Sk8er Boi
by Signed -K
Summary: **HIATUS 1/19/16: I'm sorry, I'm having more trouble writing this than I thought I would :( ** This is our third tour in two and half years. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and I have been a team for six years; we've traveled the world as the Is. This time around things are changing and all bets are off. ::Rated M for adult content (hopefully, eventual lemons). Rockerella and Bandward.
1. Chapter 1

The bus was parked in the parking lot outside Eclipse Records at 4:30am sharp. A full 30 minutes before Starbucks opened, because fuck me that's why. We have a show in Portland at 10 o'clock tonight to kick off the tour and, according to Rose, this was the absolute latest we could possibly leave and get there in time. Rosalie Hale had been our band manager for two years now and I loved her like family, but sometimes I think she's trying to kill me.

"What's the matter Jelly Belly," Emmett McCartey, our drummer, hollered — his voice way too loud and chipper for this ungodly hour. "You look like someone pissed in your cheerios."

"And you look like Satan," I grumbled, pulling the hood of my sweatshirt up, while we stood in the otherwise empty parking lot waiting for everyone else to show. Emmett shrugged, unfazed by my bad mood, and pulled a protein bar from his backpack.

Jasper Whitlock, our bass player, was the third member of our crew to show up and I was happy that Jasper was just as grumpy as I felt. That's a lie; Jasper doesn't do grumpy. However, he was quiet and sleepy looking so I would count that as a win. Technically, we could get on the bus and go back to sleep, but knowing the majority of our time over the next 9 months would be spent on that bus was ominous and no one wanted to spend a second longer on board than needed.

At least the bus would be an upgrade from the last tour. No more built in bunks and mini fridges; now we had bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small kitchen, and a decent sized sitting area to enjoy. Everyone had fought Alice and I for the big room, the one with its own bathroom, but we'd won out in the end. Emmett and Rosalie, who had gotten engaged a few months ago, were sharing one of the other rooms, and Jasper and Edward were sharing the third.

"Why are you guys standing out here," Alice asked, her voice way too perky so early in the morning. She and Emmett were two peas in a pod. Alice Brandon had only been the band's stylist for a few months and as the newest member of our traveling circus, she'd yet to be on tour with us. She still thought of it as an exciting and fun experience, which it was, but she didn't know how exhausting being on tour could be. She walked towards us, rolling two pink suitcases behind her and carrying a backpack, despite the several pieces of luggage she'd dropped off with the road crew last night, and Jasper hurried over to help her with them. Everyone knew Alice was smitten with Jasper; everyone except Jasper. It was only a matter of time though, seeing as the feeling was mutual.

"Enjoying our last moments of freedom," Emmett sighed wistfully and I nodded my agreement.

"Oh don't be so dramatic; thank you, Jasper," Alice smiled and Jasper tipped the cowboy hat he wore. He didn't wear the hat on stage, Rose wouldn't let him, but you'd be hard pressed to catch him without it otherwise.

"It's your first tour, Al, give it a few days," I responded and she shrugged.

"Am I last," Edward asked, his green eyes looking to Alice with a hint of surprise. I suppressed a laugh and nudged him when he came to stand beside me. It was a little surprising that Alice had beat him; we'd been taking bets last night on who would be the last to arrive. Now, I guess, no one won because the votes had landed between Edward, Alice, and I.

"Rose isn't here," I told told him and he looked at me like I'd grown two heads.

"Ms. If-You're-Late-I-Will-Leave-You isn't here yet," he asked and I choked on another laugh, shaking my head. "Hey Em, where's your woman," Edward hollered across the lot to where Emmett and Jasper were leaning against the tour bus, heading towards them and leaving me standing with Alice.

"I can't believe you're not more excited, Bella," Alice chirped the second Edward left.

"This is my third tour in two and a half years," I told her, by way of explanation.

"Yes, but 9 months on a tour bus with Green Eyes."

It took a second for Alice's words to sink in but when they did I choked on my own spit. "Alice, what the fuck?"

Alice giggled, "you think I don't see the way you look at him?"

"He's practically my brother." Even as I said the words I knew they were a lie. I was close with Edward, close with all the guys, but Emmett was like a brother — Edward was like… the really hot guy you know you can never have so you become his best friend instead. Of course, I wasn't _ever_ going to say those words out loud.

"Eww," Alice said, making a mock gagging sound that actually made me hyper aware of my own gag reflex. It was way too early for shit like that; I swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "If that's the way you look at a practical brother, I'm really glad you don't have any actual brothers."

"Shut up," I half laughed, giving her a playful shove.

The sound of Rose's heels bounced off the asphalt and we all turned to look at her as she walked towards us, hands weighed down with drink carriers filled with Starbucks coffees. _Yeeeessss._ "You're late," Jasper teased and Rose glared at him.

"After the twenty-something text messages last night, I decided that I didn't want to start off the new tour with an uncaffeinated Bella," Rose replied and I grinned while everyone else laughed.

"You always were a smart woman, Rose," I told her and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I know; now can we get on the bus please? We're 45 minutes behind schedule and Alice is going to be doing your makeup in the back of a moving vehicle if we don't make up the time."

"You heard the woman, on the bus," I commanded, raising a hand in the air dramatically.

Once we were all on the bus, Rose handed the coffees to Emmett to pass out while she took one to the driver and then we were off. I liked touring, despite my complaints. It was a good way to travel without the stress of having to plan it, I left that up to Rosalie, and I got to spend a lot of time with all of my favorite people. Granted, they were really my only people because I'm kind of a hermit.

I met Jasper our Junior year of High School when I moved to Forks, our hometown, to live with my dad—Charlie. Jasper was the most recent new kid in a town of less than 4,000 residents, so he kind of took pity on me and took me under his wing. He and Emmett, who was a Senior at the time, were already friends and they liked to get together to jam in Emmett's garage sometimes. They invited me along a couple of times and that's when Emmett, Jasper, and I had started the band—the Is. Emmett moved to Seattle after graduation, where he met Edward, and now the Is has four records—one platinum and two multi-platinum. It'd been a crazy six years, but I wouldn't trade a second of it.

 **A/N: Hi guys! This is something fun I started and decided to share with you all. I have no time frame in mind for posts, but I do have a few chapters written and they've been coming fairly easy so let's hope it stays that way. I've been working a crazy amount lately and I'm in school, plus I have another fic I've been grossly neglecting. Any who, a lot of the songs I've been listening to while writing have been Avril Lavigne so you might see some of her songs here :P I own nothing Twilight and none of the music. I will make notes at the bottom of each chapter whenever a song is referenced so you know what songs I'm talking about for easy reference. If you're familiar with any of the songs you may be familiar with their stories and, if so, know that I make up my own stories for each song. However it felt to me from Bella/Edward's perspective, as I write.**


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up around 11 and the driver, Eric, told me we were somewhere near Sacramento. Everyone else was still asleep, probably would be for a while considering they stayed awake while I went back to sleep. The silence was probably the weirdest part about being on a sleeping tour bus; not because I didn't like quiet, I do, but because there's always some sort of noise — Emmett snoring or the sound of the road underneath us. I popped in my headphones, putting on my playlist of demos for the new record, and made myself a bowl of cereal. The upgraded bus really was amazing. Last tour the bus had been quaint but manageable, the tour before that had been a shoe box, but this I could get used to. I made myself comfortable at the little table built in between the kitchen and the sitting area, grabbing a notebook and pen from Edward's bookbag, which he'd left sitting there, and started making notes about the song I was listening to.

By the time Rose emerged, I'd listen to four of the songs enough times to make me want to rip my eardrums out, but at least I'd made plenty of notes about the arrangements, lyrics, and vocal suggestions. The guys didn't put as much thought into the songs the Record Label sent over as I did, but Rose always liked to know what I was thinking and I liked to be thorough. I could potentially sing any one of these songs a million times over the course of my career, I couldn't just choose something on the fly. She peaked over my shoulder to see what I was doing, then grabbed herself a premade parfait from the fridge.

"How's it going," she asked, when I paused song number five and pulled out my earbuds. "Anything sound like the next single."

I shrugged noncommittally. The Label would love it if they had a hand in picking one of our singles, but the fact was that all of our singles had been written by Edward. They tried to give suggestions and nudge us in the direction they wanted, but even Aro — the head of Eclipse — couldn't deny when Edward struck gold. "So what's on the agenda for this evening? You were pretty adamant about getting their early, press conference or something?"

Rose nodded, swallowing a bite of parfait before answering. "Yeah, Aro wants to kick off the tour with a big meet and greet with the press before the show. It's scheduled from 8:30-9 and right now," Rose checked her watch and looked displeased. "We'll be there around 8." I grimaced, Alice was definitely going to be doing my makeup on the bus. It wasn't that Alice wasn't a great makeup artist, it's that I'm a terrible barbie. Everytime she pulled out the eyeliner my eyes start watering and I can't stop blinking. Add moving vehicle to the equation and I was 100% getting poked in the eye.

"Who all's going to be there?"

"Local press, of course, some people from MTV, E!, Rolling Stone; the usual."

"Why didn't they just have it in L.A. then, besides the local people I mean."

Rose shrugged, "because Aro's kind of crazy and he liked the idea of the press seeing you guys 'on the road'." She said this last part with air quotes and I laughed. Aro was a bit eccentric but Eclipse was a very successful label and he knew what he was doing; most importantly he was supportive of us and had high hopes for our future as a band.

"Morning," Edward yawned his greeting from the kitchen, stopping to grab a bottle of water before sliding into the seat beside me. He looked at my notes and shoved me with his shoulder, "thief," he teased.

"Bella and I were just wondering how the next single's coming along," Rose spoke up, hinting.

Edward rolled his eyes and took a drink of his water, "it's still in the air, I'll let you know when I have it."

"Rockstars, I swear; I couldn't operate in the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants way that you all do," Rose huffed.

"I'm sorry, wasn't it you that kept us all waiting this morning?" Rose flipped him off and Edward laughed. There was a time, before Emmett made his move on her, that I thought Edward and Rosalie could have something together. They had always gotten along so well, joked around and enjoyed each other's company, not to mention they were completely compatible in the looks department.

Rose was flawless; her skin glowed, without a hint of having ever had a blemish, and her hair was the kind of golden blonde you only saw in movies. She had the most magnificent eyes, a sort of violet blue, and legs that a supermodel would kill for. At 5'4" and without a single extraordinary characteristic, I envied her beauty.

Then there was Edward. Edward was tall and lean, with forrest green eyes that seemed to look right through me and copper hair he wore in a constant state of disarray. I had thing for Edward, admittedly, when I first met him, but he was Emmett's friend and we'd all gotten along so well that I never tried to see it through. Unfortunately for me, that also meant that I got to watch him date women who weren't me and pretend I was okay with it. Because I was… I was his bandmate, not his girlfriend… Then Alice came into the picture and saw right through the facade I'd spent years perfecting. Stupid intuitive hoosier.

"Bella, are you listening," Rose asked and I realized that I'd spaced out thinking about Edward. Whoops.

"Sorry, what?"

Rose sighed and repeated herself. It wasn't important details, at least not to me; just stuff about what to expect from the media later and off limit topics they'd all be prepared for. We didn't have many, no weird sex scandals or anything to hide, but after our first record deal had gone south litigation ruled that we couldn't discuss what happened. It normally wasn't a problem, but every once in awhile some ballsy reporter tried to sneak in a question. Hell hath no fury like Rosalie when a reporter ignores her.


	3. Chapter 3

We arrived just in time for the meet and greet. It was being held in a conference room at the Moda Center, which was good because we were only going to have an hour or so to get ready before we had to be on stage. Alice had done my make up on the bus, complaining incessantly when I refused to let her put eyeliner on me in a moving vehicle, but I'd opted for my own clothes instead of a cute little outfit she'd picked out. She got to pick what I wore on stage, I wanted to hold onto my freedom just a little while longer.

Most of the local press wore sports coats and slacks, but the Rolling Stone people seemed to appreciate the Used t-shirt I wore. Honestly, no one really cared, besides a few helpful suggestions from Alice, what the guys wore and it was unfair that I had to be treated any differently just because I happen to have a uterus. Pfft. Sexists.

They had us sitting behind a long table on top of a small platform with microphones from various news outlets lining the table. I was seated at one end, beside Edward, and Jasper and Emmett took their seats at the other end. I hated these things, I was always so awkward. I wanted to be more of a lead singer like Patrick Stump, and let one of the guys step up to do all of the talking, but Rose said it didn't work that way. Luckily, ever personable, Edward spoke up a lot so I wasn't completely on my own while they other three sat there awkwardly and waited for fan questions to be asked.

A staff member explained the etiquette of the meet and greet and then explained that there was also a live feed being broadcast through youtube so " _please_ remember the guidelines set forward by the band manager" she begged and Edward snorted beside me. I tried not to laugh as we waited for everything to get started.

"Bella, Edward, Emmett, Jasper, thank you all so much for joining us," she started, turning to face us finally.

"No problem" .. "Yup" .. "Our pleasure" .. "Anytime" We all spoke at once.

"I'm going to get started tonight with a couple of fan submitted questions and then I will open the forum to the ladies and gentleman of the press." I nodded in understanding and she smiled, glancing at her paper for guidance. "ISfan112 wants to know: how did you guys come up with your name?"

I glanced down the table to Jasper who shook his head, he really preferred to be the quiet broody one. "Umm… well… Jasper and I met in High School," Emmett cleared his throat and the room chuckled. "Sorry, Emmett, Jasper, and I; better?"

"Much," Emmett smiled and I rolled my eyes.

"Anyways, we started playing together and we were joking around one night when I made the comment that we were just angsty teenagers with instruments and Jasper got all worked up declaring: You're not angsty, you're THE IS!" I held up my arms in triumph the way Jasper had that and everyone laughed again.

"And Jasper, where did that come from," the woman asked good naturedly since, admittedly, I hadn't answered the question.

Jasper shrugged, sitting forward to be closer to the microphones, "honestly it just sort of came out. A play on her name, Isabella, and then Emmett kept using it until it stuck." I remembered the way Emmett had refused to call me Bella for months; little did he know it would stick so well.

"MrsMcCartey3 wants to know if Emmett is really dating band manager Rosalie Hale, as speculated by the media in recent months?"

Emmett grinned, his dimples deepening as he looked to wear Rosalie stood to the left of the platform. "No comment," he said and winked when she caught him looking at her. Rose smiled and shook her head at him; she loves his antics and we all knew it. The rest of the fan questions went a lot like that, as did the press' questions; either we couldn't/wouldn't comment or we told some story that probably only made sense to the four of us. There was a lot of questions about possible venues, as the entire tour schedule hadn't been announced yet, and whether or not we were excited.

We were just about to wrap up with a young girl stood and a crew member brought her a microphone. She looked to be in her early teens, maybe a freshman or sophomore in High School, and she wore a hoodie that read Teens Against P.M.S. and it caught my attention. "Hello, my name is Angela Webber and I'm a Sophomore at Westview High School…" a couple of reports chuckled and whispered to each other as the girl grew visibly more nervous and started fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweatshirt. "I'm a member of Teens Against Premarital Sex and I have a question for Bella."

My eyebrows shot up to, what felt like, my hairline and I sat up in my seat. "Hi Angela, what's your question?"

"A lot of the girls in my school make fun of us for our choice to abstain from sex and… umm…" she hesitated nervously and I gave her an encouraging smile, anxious to see where this was going and physically pained by this girl's shyness. "I read once that you wrote _Don't Tell Me,_ off your first album, about someone trying to force you to have sex in High School and I was wondering what words of encouragement you had for girls like me who want to wait?"

Suddenly everyone in the room was very serious and all eyes were on me, something I wasn't unaccustomed to but that suddenly felt very anxious about. "Oh, wow… umm…" a few camera bulbs went off as I raked my brain for a response. "Well first of all, thank you for coming today, I know it took a lot of courage, and you're right… _Don't Tell Me_ is about a boy I had a crush on in High School that tried to get me to have sex with me." Why did the word sex suddenly seem so… icky? "Uh… I guess I would just say that sex is a very serious commitment, despite what movies might make you believe, and it's not one you should take lightly. Until you're ready to make a lifelong commitment to someone you shouldn't have sex and… and in High School, I don't think anyone is ready to make that commitment."

Angela smiled and seemed a little more comfortable and I smiled back at her. Then the woman who'd been running the show stepped up to thank the press and wrap things up while Rose gestured for us to head out. "Rose, I want to know who that girl is," I told her when I stepped down off the platform. I was trying to keep an eye on her as the other reporters started to congregate and disperse, but she was looking around nervously and I kept losing sight of her. "Will you find out for me? Get her contact information?" Rose quirked an eyebrow but then nodded, gesturing for me to follow the guys as they left the same way we entered.

 **A/N: The song Angela is referring to is** ** _Don't Tell Me_** **by Avril Lavigne. In this story, it's a song that Bella wrote in High School about a boy who pretended to be interested in her and then tried to make her have sex with him. As I said before, if you're familiar with the song and know the actual back story please be kind. I don't and it was just the way I imagined it from Bella's point of view :) -K**


	4. Chapter 4

"It's not a dress," Alice argued and I glared at her, folding my arms across my chest. "Okay, it's a _sweater_ dress, you wear it with black leggings, and I even found you thes—"

"I'm not wearing a dress." We only had half an hour until we had to go on and I was the last one getting ready, thanks to Alice, as usual.

"But you can wear it with converse!"

Her argument made me curious "go on…"

She smiled and pulled out a very large Chuck Taylor box. The shoes she pulled out were technically converse but they were not at all Bella friendly. They had to be some sort of special edition because I'd never heard of them… she was holding a pair of Chuck Taylor boots… complete with heels that made me cringe. "They'll lace up to here," Alice grinned, gesturing with her hand to the space right above her knee.

"Alice, I—"

"Are you _seriously_ not ready yet," Rose asked, peaking her head in through the door that lead to the green room where the guys were waiting. "They're here to hook up your ear piece… ooo those are cute," Rosalie lost her manager edge and stepped in, closing the door behind her and looking at the shoes Alice was holding.

Five minutes later, I couldn't believe they had talked me into this. I wasn't as wobbly on the 3 inch heels as I thought I'd be, they were actually pretty sturdy compared to some of the other shoes Alice and Rose had forced me in to. Converse succeeded, once again, in making Bella approved shoes. The dark grey sweater-dress Alice put me in stopped about mid thigh and exposed the black leggings, which then disappeared into the knee high black and white boots. I wore my hair messy, with a few curls, and my eye makeup smokey. I didn't look like myself, but I did look like the lead singer of a popular Rock band… Alice was annoying as hell but she was good at her job.

"Hells bells," Emmett remarked when I stepped into the green room. "Bella, is that you under there?" I glared and flipped him off, he laughed, "yeah, that's her."

Jasper was playing with his phone when he looked up and his mouth dropped. "Holy shit. Good job, Ali." I glanced to Alice, who blushed, then rolled my eyes.

"Seriously guys, it's just a dress, get the fuck over it." The tech guy who had been hooking up Emmett when I came in finished and headed over to me, running the wire up my back and giving me the once over as he worked. _Men!_ "Where's Edward?"

"I'm here," he responded to my question, coming out of one of the other dressing rooms. He paused when he saw me, his green eyes growing dark as he looked me up and down. Being the feminist I am, I was totally offended… okay, I totally blushed. But I should have flipped him off, too.

"Wow, Bella; you look amazing."

"Thanks," I smiled and he smiled back at me.

"Five minutes," someone called from outside the door, knuckled wrapping on the metal and making me aware that I hadn't even had time to get nervous. It didn't matter how many shows you did, and I'd done so many that I'd lost count, you always get nervous when you have to perform. There are just so many variables, so many things that could go wrong, and you're relying completely on three other people and like a hundred technicians to make sure you don't make a fool of yourself or… I don't know… die in a pyrotechnics malfunction. Dammit, I was sweating.

Emmett jumped in place a few times, drumming on the sides of his legs anxiously as he tried to pump himself up, and Jasper finished the soda that was left in the bottle on the table. Edward though, Edward was watching me, and that only made me more anxious. "It's gonna be fine," he spoke softly, coming to stand beside me. He placed a hand on each of my bare arms — yeah the stupid dress had no sleeves, which was good I guess considering I was going to sweat my ass off regardless — and rubbed up and down comfortingly.

He was sexy as hell in his tight jeans and black t-shirt, his brown leather jacket tight on his muscular shoulders… can shoulders be muscular? I don't know, but his were. He wasn't stacked with muscles like Emmett was — all broad shouldered and bulging arms — but Edward worked out and it showed. If I didn't know him better, I'd swear he wasn't nervous at all, but years of performing together and I knew better. Edward always got just as anxious as the rest of us, then he would take a minute to be alone and compose himself. The rest of us looked like chickens with our head cut off compared to him.

The stage manager opened the door, his hand pressed to the piece in his ear before he spoke, "you're on!"

By the time we finished our third encore, and Jasper and Edward had battled guitar solos, I was stiff and exhausted but totally wired. My feet were sore and I blamed the boots, but logically I knew that I would have been sore anyways. Actually, they'd held up pretty well and, after a few songs of me testing my limits, I was comfortable running around stage in them. I'd almost slipped once and tripped on chords twice, but that was pretty normal for me.

Jasper and Edward were talking excitedly about their guitar battle and Emmett was back to drumming on his thighs when Security escorted us out the back of the arena and onto our waiting tour bus. There were fans lined up along the barricade, all screaming and taking pictures while we smiled and waved at them. "I need fooooood," I complained, loudly, once we were all on board.

Rose ignored me, talking to the driver for a second, then coming back to join us in the sitting area as the bus started moving. "Great show tonight guys, you sold out every seat," a couple of the guys whooped and hollered and I heard someone high fiving someone behind me. I was too concerned with my grumbling stomach to pay attention to them, I just wanted Rosalie to give us the rundown of our plan so I could raid the cabinets in the kitchen for something to eat. "We're heading over to Seattle for the next two days; tomorrow we'll hang out and explore the city, then Tuesday you're going to have a skype interview with Good Morning America."

We all groaned in unison. "Seriously? Can't we just have a real interview when we get to New York," Edward complained but Rose was unfazed.

"Actually we'll be doing that too, to help close the North American tour, but that's four months from now."

"But we're on the West Coast, they're East Coast, that means we have to be up at 4 o'clock in the morning… on a show day… to talk to some old bitches on the internet?"

Rose started looking at something on her iPad, effectively blocking Emmett out, and he groaned. Emmett may know how to wake himself up early in the morning, but he definitely wasn't a morning person. "Just don't schedule anything after the interview," I thought suddenly, realizing that Rose probably had big plans for us while we were in Seattle. Leisure or business related, Rose liked to plan. "I want to go back to bed afterwards and, besides, maybe my dad can drive over and spend some time with us before the show."

"Sounds like a good idea," Rose nodded, still focused on whatever she was looking at. She walked away, leaving us to our own devices, and Emmett followed quickly behind her. I heard Rose squeal a second later and then the sound of their door shutting. "Animals," I turned to complain to Jasper, who had been sitting across from me a few seconds ago, but he was hanging out back by the bedrooms talking to a blushing Alice. Seriously? Was everyone getting laid but me.

Edward looked bored, and tired, focusing on his phone while he ran a hand through his untamed hair. I got up and walked over to the kitchen, opening the cabinets over the sink to look for sustenance. Score, doritos! "Ha, Bells, look at this!" I grabbed the back quickly before walking back to Edward, he held up his phone to me and I groaned. They had a picture of me, blushing and looking awkward as hell, at tonight's Q&A with a big bold headline: BELLA SWAN, VIRGIN?

"Well my dad will be in a good mood, at least," I said, sitting on the bench across from Edward and opening my bag of chips.

"Oh come on, I think it was sweet that you talked to her like that. The other media guys were rude."

I shrugged, "I gotta remember to ask Rose if she found out who she was. I liked that girl; reminded me a lot of me in High School."

"You were in Teens Against PMS."

"Well, I was a Teen and I was against PMS," I joked and Edward smirked. "She just looked so uncomfortable and out of place; with the big sweatshirt and the nervous fidgeting, that's what I was like back then."

"That's still what you're like," Edward deadpanned and I threw a dorito at him, which he caught in his mouth… asshole. "I can respect that, not having sex in High School. How long did you wait, anyways?"

It was conversational, obviously not meant to mean anything, but I felt my cheeks flush. "I– uh–" I stuttered, unsure how to respond.

"Too personal," Edward asked, smirking; his eyes dancing with amusement.

I shrugged and popped another Dorito in my mouth, deciding that silence was the best response. Thankfully, he dropped it; we hung out for a few more minutes while he surfed the interwebs, reading about the band and the concert. Then we both said our goodnights, at least for a couple of hours—until we got to the hotel in Seattle, and headed to bed.

5 minutes later, I finished taking the million bobby pins out of my hair when there was a knock at the door.I opened it to find Edward standing there, awkwardly, holding a pillow. "I've been told to make other arrangements," he explained, shrugging, and I had to laugh.

"Really? Alice and Jasper?"

"Are you surprised," Edward asked, stepping in and shutting the door behind him as I headed back to the little vanity set up I had, to finished getting ready for bed.

"No; just surprised she's such a ho," I said teasingly and watched in the mirror as Edward smiled.

I tried to ignore his presence as I removed my make up and put my hair up in a ponytail, but he was so damn distracting. He started by removing Alice's pillows and tossing them to the foot of her bed, replacing them with his own. Then he pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes and socks.

Feet were not my forte, though I knew some women liked that kind of thing, but there was something so intimate about having Edward Cullen barefoot in my bedroom. Of course, that was nothing compared to the churning in my stomach when he removed his shirt. When he started to reach for his belt, I grabbed my own pajamas off the vanity and hurried into the bathroom, spamming the door shut to separate us.

I was sure to take my time brushing my teeth and changing, giving him ample time to disrobe and get under the blankets. Lingering five minutes longer than was socially acceptable, I was happy to be greeted by the sound of Edward's breathing when I stepped back into the room. I'd seen Edward in his boxers before, seen him sleeping, seen him barefoot; but there was something about having him behind the closed doors of my bedroom that made me feel anxious. Ugh! Maybe it was time to find a boyfriend.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: here's a nice big chapter for you guys :) Not normally my style, but I felt it was necessary to get the story going where I want it to go.**

When we got to the hotel Rose knocked on the door to wake us up and I deliberately ignored Edward's presence as he got out of bed and got dressed again. I could hear the sound of the fans waiting outside for us and contemplated changing back into regular clothes, but decided my sweatpants would have to be good enough, and pulled a Bowling for Soup hoodie on over the tank top I'd worn to bed. It was almost four in the morning and, despite being impressed by their loyalty, it was too late to sign autographs. Instead we smiled and waved so they could all take their pictures as security ran out to escort us inside.

"Hey uhm, Bella," Alice was nervous as she approached me in the lobby, something new for Miss I-have-no-boundaries. "I'm sorry for earlier, for Edward having to crash with you."

I shrugged, "no big." Okay, that was a lie — it was a big big, but admitting that would mean admitting that I liked Edward and I was vehemently denying that.

"Oh good!" She perked up, handing me the room key that Rose had given her. "Then you won't mind if he crashes with you again so me and Jasper can stay together." She skipped off excitedly before I could respond. The conniving little smurf! Alice approached Jasper, who was talking to Edward, and I saw him pluck the keycard from Edward's hand. He ran a hand through his hand and turned to look at me, giving me a shrug of indifference.

We were only staying for a couple of days so I didn't need much, unlike Alice's backpack and two pink suitcases that had reappeared, but Edward grabbed my backpack from me anyways as we all gathered to wait for the elevator. "Hey, sorry to get forced on you," he apologized quietly so the others wouldn't hear.

"You didn't get forced on me," I lied. "It's just a bed, I don't care where you sleep. Besides, not sure anything could ever beat Emmett's van when we moved to LA."

It was a joke, kind of — the van had been packed with all our gear and extremely uncomfortable, we'd all gotten more acquainted than we ever cared to be on that trip — but Edward didn't laugh. "You sure? You kinda seemed to mind on the bus."

Shit. Had I been awkward? I had been awkward. I tried not to be obvious, I was a pretty awkward person after all so it couldn't have been _that_ obvious, but apparently he noticed. "I was just tired; caught me off guard is all." I gave him a small, encouraging smile and he nodded in agreement as the elevator arrived.

We were on the 12th floor of the Fairmont Olympic and, luckily, our room was down the hall from the _action_. Edward held the door open for me as I stepped inside and Alice's giggling could be heard as he shut the door. I was aware not to act unusually awkward as I took off my hoodie and climbed back into bed, but Edward hadn't spoken since the elevator and I was feeling unusually awkward.

He dropped my bag at the end of my bed then headed to the other bed where he disrobed again; I only know this because I could hear his shoes hit the floor and then the sound of him undoing his belt, because I kept my eyes shut tight. But not too tight so that it was obvious what I was doing. God, if I was exhausted before, I don't know what to call this. Overthinking everything I did was draining. Eventually, but not soon enough, I heard the click of the light switch as Edward turned off the lights and it grew dark behind my eyelids.

The next morning we had brunch in _one_ of the hotel's restaurants and I realized how overly prestigious the hotel was. "Rose, is this really necessary?"

"Aro's footing the bill, of course it's necessary."

Emmett laughed, rubbing his hands together greedily as he looked at the menu with new eyes. "Well I hope he's footing the bill for friends, too." I looked up, stunned, when I heard Charlie's voice. He was standing behind Rosalie and Emmett, a modest grin on his mustached face. Call me childish, but I squealed a little when I jumped up and launched myself into his waiting arms. It'd been months since I'd seen my dad and feeling him embrace me now felt like home. Neither of us had ever been very affectionate or touchy-feely kind of people, but his arms tightened ever so slightly before he let me go and I knew he'd missed me too.

"What are you doing here? I was going to call you later to see if you could drive up tomorrow."

"Well, no need; Rose called a couple of weeks ago and asked me to come. Even booked me a fancy room upstairs so I could stay last night." Charlie joined us at the table and I hugged him again.

"I'm so glad you're here; thank you, Rose."

"We couldn't come to Washington without seeing Papa Swan," she said, accepting my gratitude.

I noticed Alice smiling politely and almost laughed, "Dad, I don't think you've met Alice yet. Alice, this is my dad—Charlie Swan. Charlie, this is Alice Brandon—our stylist."

"Mr. Swan, it's nice to meet you." Alice smiled and my dad's mustache twitched, his version of a smile.

"You can call me Charlie. So Alice, are you responsible for getting my daughter in a dress and heels at last night's concert?"

"Yes, sir," Alice responded at the same time I asked, "how did you know I wore a dress last night?"

"What," he asked, sounding offended. "Your father's not allowed to check up on you? People posted pictures on Twitter."

" _You_ have Twitter," I asked, my words louder than I intended, earning us a few glares from other diners.

Charlie shrugged, "the new dispatcher at the station got us setup to share community updates, she taught me how to use it."

I couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped, "Forks Police Department has a Twitter account? For what, the three residents with a computer?" Jasper and Emmett joined my laughter, appreciating the humor from the very technologically impaired days in Forks, while the others watched us with confused looks on their faces.

"Actually it's been quite popular," he correct, now obviously offended. Charlie was the Chief of Police in Forks, Washington, where Jasper, Emmett, and I were from. He'd lived in Forks his whole life, rarely ventured outside the county unless necessary, and had no patience for people who belittled his home town. "Forks has come a long way since you were there, Bells. The High School newsletter is now an email and the mayor donating two practically new computers to the library."

He was only adding fuel to the fire but, for my dad's sake, I tried to control my laughter. "Wow," I said, trying to sound more impressed than sarcastic, with mixed results. "Maybe in a few years they'll build some more cell towers and people can actually get cell reception."

"Ugh. Don't get me started," Rose huffed and my dad grinned, probably remembering the thanksgiving we'd all spent in Forks. Three days of Rosalie without email or cell service; by the time we left, we were fairly concerned she had gone permanently primitive.

"Are you ready to order," the obviously anxious waitress asked.

After brunch Charlie came back to the room with me, Alice tagging along and talking excitedly about how much she loved sharing a room with me and how it was just like a slumber party. Chief Swan wasn't convinced but I knew she was probably anxious about my dad knowing she had shared a room with Jasper. Which was fine, I wasn't too eager to share that I'd spent the night with Edward, either. Not that I really cared if my dad disapproved, I was an adult and didn't need anyone's approval... That's a lie... I didn't want my daddy to think I was sleeping with Edward.

"So I read some interesting stuff about you, Bella," Charlie said, making himself comfortable in the random chair they always seem to have in hotel rooms. I groaned and sat down on the edge of my freshly made bed—thanks housekeeping!

"Dad, I've told you not to read anything you see in the magazines at the grocery store. They're all lies."

Charlie nodded, scratching his mustache. "I read about the interview you kids did last night; about the girl who came to ask you for advice." I blushed. Charlie and I had had one failed attempt at a sex talk when I started seeing Mike in High School – the guy _Don't Tell Me_ was written about – and it had been enough to scar me for life. Essentially Charlie tried to tell me there were things I should know and when telling him mom had beat him to the punch years ago didn't stop him, I blurted out "I'm a Virgin!" then ran upstairs and locked myself in my room for the remainder of the night. "I think it's very nice, what you had to say to her. It probably took a lot of courage for her to come there, like that, to talk to you."

I smiled bashfully, happy that he didn't seem to remember our painfully awkward experience. "Thank you."

As the only member of the team who hadn't visited Seattle before, Alice's idea of sightseeing involved the Northgate Mall. Shopping was never my pace, and definitely not Charlie's, so we ended up visiting Starbucks and walking around for a bit while the others did some shopping. As a weekday, the mall was fairly empty so minimum security was needed. While Felix—a tall, dark haired bodyguard who traveled with the road crew—trailed Jasper, Emmett, and Edward, Rose agreed that I was safe enough with Chief Swan around.

"That Alice girl seems like a nice kid. Little fidgety though; a nervous sort of kid." I was going to be 24 next month and Charlie still referred to me, and everyone around me, as kid. It was something that used to annoy me, but after a few months apart I found it kind of endearing.

"Yeah, she is. A little pushy in the wardrobe department, hence the aforementioned dress, but I like her. She recently starting seeing Jasper, I think she was just nervous for you to find that out."

Charlie chuckled, "I picked up on that with the way he kept bringing her up in conversation at the restaurant." I smiled, Jasper had never been sly and had never been able to get anything past my dad. One time, in High School, Jasper had been thinking about smoking pot for the first time. He came over for dinner and my dad just looked at him and knew. Thankfully it deterred him, otherwise our friendship might have ended and then we wouldn't be here today. Not because I care what anyone does on their own time, but because the Chief of Police's daughter would _never_ be allowed to hang out with a known stoner. Though most people always assumed he was anyways; maybe it's the shaggy hair?

"How are things in Forks?"

"Good; Sue and I have been talking, thinking maybe it's time for her to move in?"

"Really," I asked, stunned. Sue Clearwater was a widow from the Indian reservation near Forks. She'd known my dad longer than I'd been alive and when her husband past 5 or 6 years ago they'd started seeing each other. He tried to keep it quiet at first, I guess worried about how I'd react and what people might say about her, but eventually I had to tell him that I knew they were a couple and he stopped trying to hide it. After a while, I thought maybe they'd get married or something, but their relationship moved at a snail's pace. "What about Leah and Seth," her kids. "Will they move in as well?" I wasn't concerned, it was strictly a logistical question; Charlie still lived in the two bedroom one bathroom house he bought in the early years of his marriage to my mom. Those were the only years their marriage had, the early ones.

"Leah's married now, to a nice man on the reservation, and Seth will be graduating High School in May. He's applied to Vancouver and a couple out of state colleges."

"Leah's _married_ ," I asked, my voice–again–louder than intended.

"You were at the wedding, Bells," Charlie reminded me with an amused smile.

"Oh... Right... Wow, Leah's married and I haven't even..." I trailed off, remembering my company. Charlie cleared his throat awkwardly, clapping me on the back, and steered me towards the bookstore.

Despite his objections, I ended up buying Charlie a new watch from one of the jewelry stores. The watch he wore now he's worn as long as I could remember and it was time for an upgrade. Though, even as he put it on and moved the old watch to his pocket, I knew it wouldn't get much use. We'd been doing this song and dance since I first started earning money with the band. Charlie needed a new truck, I tried to buy him one, he threw a fit. His water heater went out, I sent him a check, he never cashed it.

I tried to tell him it was a return on his investment for all the money he'd sent me when we first moved to LA but he would always say that's just why parents do. Well, not _all_ parents, obviously. Charlie was set in his ways and he didn't like change; presumably why it had taken all these years for him and Sue to _discuss_ living together. Now maybe in another 3 years they'd actually move in together.

"Hey Chief, hey Bella," Emmett smiled when they ran into us outside Hot Topic. Edward was still acting weird; though I'd hoped our conversation this morning would have helped but he'd been quiet at brunch and now he was being a little standoffish. Unlike Alice, I knew Edward wasn't intimidated by my dad, despite his best efforts when they'd first met several years ago. The only conclusion I could draw, was that it was me. Obviously I'd offended him or something and that sucked.

"Hi Em," I smiled halfheartedly. I watched him notice my change in mood and choose to ignore it in front of my dad, and I appreciated that. "Where's Jasper?"

"He went and met up with Rose and Alice. You guys headed in? Gonna make Papa Swan go goth?" His voice was excited and that made us all laugh, though Charlie looked seriously concerned by the suggestion.

"I don't think Sue would approve."

"Oh come on dad," I nudged him. "Spice things up."

Charlie huffed, his mustache twitching as he grumbled something under his breath, but he followed us in anyways. The two people working behind the counter looked to be about 19 or 20 and they both looked like punk rock had thrown up all over them. The guy stared in disbelief as we walked in, Felix trailing a few feet behind us, but the girl… she was looking at Edward like he was something to eat.

"Oh my God, you're Edward Cullen," she said, her voice way too prissy for someone wearing so much black.

"Uh.. yeah.." he responded.

"I can't believe you guys are here, and to think I almost took an Art History class during this time slot," she practically squealed and Emmett snorted. The girl—whose name tag said Lauren—came around the counter to stand near Edward. My dad's eyes widened almost comically when he saw the practically non-existent black leather skirt she was wearing with matching fishnets.

"T-shirts?" I directed the question at Edward and he nodded quickly, leading the way so that Emmett, my dad, and I were between him and Emo Barbie. She stayed away, surprisingly, while we looked through the clearance bin and dug through to find our sizes. By the cranky look on her face as she watched from behind the counter, I figured that was either her manager's doing or because Felix had positioned himself between her and Edward.

The store carried a few of our band shirts, so I picked one out for Seth and bought him two—one he could wear and one we could sign so he could sell it. He was enough of a fan to appreciate the sentiment but he'd had me sign enough crap over the years that I knew he was selling to the highest bidder. Kid might be under Charlie's roof soon, he would need all the help he could get.

"I'm a huge fan," the guy—Tyler—told me as he bagged my purchases and ran my credit card.

"Thanks, Tyler," I gave him a friendly smile and he blushed a little.

"It's rude to ask, I know, but would you guys mind signing something for me?" I looked to Edward and Emmett who both shrugged and nodded before agreeing, and the guy eagerly handed me a sharpie and his the Is phone case. I handed it to Edward first, to personalize, because he had the nicest handwriting, then I scribbled my chicken scratch at the bottom. He blew on the ink to make sure it was dry when I handed it back to him and I tried not to laugh. I smiled though, and managed to catch Lauren's eye as I turned to make room for Emmett and she was glaring daggers at me.

I decided to wait outside with my dad for the others but when only Emmett emerged, my heart sank. "Ed's hitting on Emo Barbie," Emmett shrugged and Charlie seemed impressed. I would have been more impressed with Emmett's coming up with the same nickname I had, if I didn't feel like I was going to be sick. "Felix is with him; you guys want to go find Rose and Alice, maybe get some grub?"

"Some things never change," Charlie commented, both oblivious to my sudden onset nausea as they started towards some department store. I fell back a few steps, letting them walk ahead, until I could safely duck into the bathroom to be alone.

The stalls were empty and the bathroom looked like it'd been recently cleaned. I sent a text to Emmett telling him I'd catch up, that I wasn't feeling good. I wanted to cry, but I also wanted to smack myself for being so stupid. I'd had feelings for Edward for a long time, at this point they were just a part of me, but the last few months it seemed to get worse. We stepped onto the tour bus yesterday morning and it blew up. Now I'm crying in a fucking mall bathroom because he wants to hit on another girl? Get a grip, Bella!

I should have taken my chance with Edward years ago, but I was always too scared that he would shoot me down and then he'd drop out of the band… or I'd have to drop out of the band from humiliation. Every time we hung out and it seemed like I was starting to connect with him I told myself I was imagining things and that it'd be stupid to jeopardize our friendship and our careers for a crush. Now though? Now I wanted to throw a tantrum, stomp into that store and grip those stupid, fake purple extensions out of little Miss Fake Tits' head!

"Ugh!" I huffed and kicked the back of the stall door, cringing at the pain that shot through my foot. My phone buzzed with a text from Alice asking where I was because she had things for me to try on. I blew my nose and tried to salvage my mascara, to no avail, hoping no one would say anything about my puffy eyes.

"There you are," Alice grinned when she saw me, her smile falling when she got a better look at me.

"Hey," I tried to smile, but she wasn't fooled. "Where'd everyone go?"

"The guys went to find an electronics store or something," she explained quickly. "What's wrong?"

"What? Nothing? Why?"

"Bella, I do that make up, I know what it looks like when it's been messed up." I rolled my eyes at her but she ignored me, grabbing my hand and tugging me into the dressing rooms. She'd already started one while she was waiting, apparently, because there were several outfits hanging on the various hooks. "What's the matter? Spill."

"It's stupid," I sniffed, my eyes burning again. Alice wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug as I started crying again. "You were right, I have feelings for Edward."

"Well duh, the only person who doesn't know is Edward," she spoke into my hair.

"What," I asked, pulling back to look at her.

"It's obvious Bella, he's the only one who can get you to smile when you're having a bad day or you're really tired. That's why Rose makes him call you anytime there's some event or something she knows you won't want to attend."

"That diabolic bitch," I grumbled and Alice nodded her agreement.

"Talk while you strip," she said, turning to grab an outfit for me to try on. So I did.

"I just feel like it's been getting worse for a while and then we were back on the tour bus, in close proximity… and then we shared a room…"

Alice gasped, "oh Bella, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think…"

"It's okay," I shrugged. "I'm happy you and Jasper finally got together. Everyone knew you liked each other, except the other one." I smirked and she giggled, gesturing for me to continue as she selected another outfit.

"Anyways, he stripped to his boxers in front of me! I mean, I've seen all the boys practically naked at some point or another… they're men and we work together like 360 days out of the year, it's bound to happen. But it was different… Edward's been distancing himself from me for a while and I tried to ignore it because I wanted to distance myself from him too, but then it was like I didn't even exist as a female person in that moment."

"All of the boys," she asked.

"Alice focus," I snapped and she apologized, giving me another outfit.

"Anyways, then he said something to me when we were getting on the elevator this morning, apologizing for being forced in with him or something. It was awkward, but then I thought things would be okay but they weren't… and now he's hitting on Miss Fake Tits."

Alice paused her rummaging and stared at me, "okay, I followed most of that. But then you lost me."

I huffed, feeling way more like a girl than I ever had in my life. I felt like the conversation should be reversed; in a normal situation Alice would be talking a million miles a minute and I would be lost, but that's what love does. It fucks everything up and nothing is normal. Love? What the fuck. I don't love Edward; I needed a reality check.

Just then Rosalie knocked on the dressing room door looking for us and I felt like she was exactly what the Doctor ordered. I tried on a few more outfits while I repeated my story to Rose, this time stopping to explain about the weirdness that happened at Hot Topic. "I mean, first he acted all freaked out… you know… the way he normally is when fan girls hit on him. But then I left the store and he starts hitting on her? Seriously? I just don't know what to think; nothing feels normal."

"Are you starting your period," Rose asked bluntly and I blanched then realized that yeah, I probably was. Okay, that helped… being rational about the irrational emotions would help. "Look Bella, as your manager I have to remind you that whatever happens between you and Edward, you need to think of the band. Whether that means you get together or choose to ignore each other, you can't let it affect Jasper and Emmett's careers too." I nodded, she was right. "But as your friend, I'd say that Edward was trying to make you jealous."

That made me laugh, clearing the fog in my brain enough to realize what Alice was handing me next. It was a floor length navy blue ball gown with only one shoulder strap. The strap was beaded with little white sequins and the neckline was low but not immodest. "What the hell is that for," I asked suddenly and Alice looked annoyed. Obviously she'd been enjoying dressing me up while I was distracted and unable to give my opinion.

"It's for the Charity Ball you'll be attending in New Orleans."

"I don't remember signing up for anything that required that kind of a dress," I stated incredulously, reaching out a hand to touch the silky/satiny fabric. I wasn't positive what type of material it was, just that it was kind of shiny and really smooth. I also knew that it was meant to be form fitting and, beautiful as the dress was, that made me uncomfortable.

"You didn't; I did. It's part of the Make a Wish foundation. They're holding a Charity Ball to raise money for the organization and it coincides with the tour." I wrinkled my nose at Rose and she smirked because she knew I'd do it for charity.

After being properly stuffed into the dress and Alice giving her approval, my brain was distracted enough that I wasn't so upset about the Edward thing anymore. While Rose might be crazy for thinking Edward was trying to make me jealous, she was right that I had to think about the band and that I was probably starting my period. Great. I would have to stop at Walgreens on the way back to the hotel for supplies.

The store placed the dress in a big bulky garment bag and Rosalie requested that it be sent to the hotel, along with our other purchases. The clerk agreed easily enough but I was stunned, I thought that only happened in movies? By the time we met the guys in the food court for dinner, Edward had joined them again and they were all laughing about something. I did my best to ignore him as I went to order my food, which required two or three selfies with the Panda Express crew, and claimed the empty seat beside my bed.

"We picked out Bella's dress for the Charity Ball," Rose said, drawing everyone's, including Edward's, eyes to me. I blushed from the attention and focused on my fried rice.

"Belly Bear in a ball gown? This, I can't wait to see," Emmett declared enthusiastically.

"I'd like to see you, ya big oaf, in a tux," I grumbled but Emmett only grinned bigger.

"I looked mighty sexy in a tux; I'll be batting em off me like wild cats."

"Wild cats," Alice asked, choking on a laugh.

"Wild cats and women are naturally attracted to my manly ways," he stated and everyone laughed, my awkwardness forgotten.

"I better get pictures of that; Bella refused to go to Prom. It'll be nice to have a nice picture of her to hang on the wall," Charlie said, patting me on the back affectionately.

Alice sounded personally offended, "you didn't go to prom?"

"Technically, that's not true," I corrected. "We played the prom."

"Oh yeah," Jasper nodded, seeming to suddenly recall this memory.

"But your prom is… your prom," Alice said, flabbergasted at the idea that any red blooded woman would choose to skip prom. "It's a once in a lifetime experience where you get to dress up and dance and take pictures and… you guys didn't want to go either?"

"Nah," Emmett shrugged. "we're with Bella, prom's for girls." He didn't mean it, I knew he didn't, but the words hit close to home lately and I felt my face flush with anger. "Bella's one of the guys, that's why we love her." I glared, hard, and flipped him off before getting up to dump my tray. I heard a smack, and Emmett's complaining, and I knew Rosalie had hit him, but I pretended like I didn't. Instead, I collected myself, returned to the table, and asked if everyone was ready to go.

Nobody spoke on the way back to the hotel and my dad, who had to get back to Forks, said his goodbyes in the lobby. "I love you, Bells. You take care of yourself; I don't like you being on the road so much."

I smiled at his concern and popped onto my tip toes to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks dad, you take care of yourself too." We borrowed a sharpie from the front desk and everyone signed the Is shirt that I'd bought for Seth then I gave Charlie one last hug and we parted ways.

Emmett, who was obviously confused about what he'd done wrong, didn't say anything on the elevator ride and Rose kept him quiet with the occasional glare. I was surprised when Alice kissed Jasper goodnight and headed towards our room, rather than opting to spend the night with him again, but Edward hesitated. "Hey Bella," he stopped me as I started to walk away.

I stopped, turning back to him, and he paused for a second. "Yeah?"

"For what it's worth? I don't just see you as one of the guys."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: If you haven't learned from the earlier Q &A session I'm bad at writing these things. Probably because I don't usually watch them lol. I watch clips of interviews on YouTube. Likewise, I've never watched Good Morning America so I tried not to be too specific because I don't want to fabricate ****_everything._**

 **As always, I own nothing Twilight. Stephenie Meyer is a genius and I just like to pretend. No copyright infringement intended.**

"Jesus Edward, you look like shit," Rosalie complained.

They set up video conferencing in one of the conference rooms on the first floor and the coffee was subpar, but at least it was present. Alice was finishing my hair when he and Jasper walked in — Rose was right, he looked like crap. It was 3:50, we had to dial in in 20 minutes, but despite Rosalie's strict early curfew, he didn't look like he'd slept at all.

"Someone was texting all night," Jasper complained, coming to kiss Alice. "You were a better roommate," he whispered and she giggled. I faked a gag to keep myself from thinking too much about whom Edward had been texting. It was Emo Barbie, it had to be.

"Jesus Christ, do you people care nothing about curfews? Alice, forget Bella's hair, she looks fine, do something with him. I can't even look at him." Rosalie checked her iPad and Emmett made his hand into a pistol, pretending to shoot Rosalie from behind.

"Okay Bella, you're done," Alice agreed, fixing a couple of curls around my face and tapping me on the shoulder to scoot out of the way. I poured myself another cup of coffee and took a seat on the sofa. Rosalie had some of the hotel staff arrange everything so there was a sofa, with a chair on either side, with a big curtained window behind us.

The interview was only supposed to be about 15 minutes, they would ask us some questions about the tour and what everyone could expect to see in the next few months. They'd play a game probably, judging by the white boards Rosalie had sat out in front of us. It was a typical game nowadays, they'd probably see who knew each other best or some shit like that. Bleh. Not that I minded, it was a fun game, but not at 4 o'clock in the morning.

Because we wouldn't be in a studio, we had to wire ourselves up, which took longer than expected, and Alice had just finished the boys' make up and we were all mic'ed up when Rosalie started getting anxious. "Okay, everyone take a seat, we'll be live any second." Edward plopped beside me on the sofa and I tried to ignore him, taking another drink of my coffee before Rose snatched it away. Jasper claimed the seat beside me, and Emmett sat on the other side of Edward, then Rose turned on the screen that would act as our two way conferencing system.

"And we're joined today by some names and faces you may all recognize. Bella, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett; how are you doing this morning?"

"Good morning," we all chimed in unison and I tried my best to be smiley and happy to be awake at 4:15 in the morning.

…

"Well guys, to wrap up the interview we wanted to play a game with you. I understand you all have your white boards?" I smiled and held up my white board to show that we did. "Great! We're going to ask you each a question, you'll write your answer on the whiteboard and then the others will try to guess your responses."

"Emmett we'll start with you," one of the other hosts took over. Emmett clapped his hands and rubbed them together excitedly. "If you had to choose one other member of the band to marry, who would it be?" Jasper and I looked at each other and laughed before uncapping our markers. "Jasper, what do you have to say?"

"Anyone who knows Emmett knows," he flipped the board around to reveal Emmett's own name.

I laughed, "me too." I flipped the board around to reveal Emmett's name.

"Ah sh...uck it," Edward recovered and we all laughed. "I didn't know we could pick ourselves." He huffed and flipped his board around to reveal Jasper's name.

The hosts laughed, "okay, Emmett; what's the answer?"

Emmett flipped it around to reveal his name and Jasper and I high fived. "To be fair, Jasper was my second pick."

"Bella."

"Yes," I sat up and smiled, waiting for my question.

"If you had one food you had to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?"

"Pssh. Child's play," Emmett declared, scribbling furiously on his board.

It was no surprised that everyone guessed my love for doritos and then they moved on to Jasper. "If you had to pick one other instrument to play, what would you play?" Everyone wrote and then they called on me to reveal my answer first.

"Uh… I said… regular guitar?"

"What? Seriously," Jasper asked and all three boys turned their boards around to show the drums.

"Oh please! Jasper couldn't play the drums," I huffed, crossing my arms petulantly.

"Someday, baby doll; some day."

"Edward, we saved the best for last."

"Bring it on," he grinned.

"What's the number one thing you look for in a girl?"

"Heh. Wow, that's a hard one," he ran a hand through his hair anxiously.

I resisted the urge to look off camera to Rose and Alice as I tried to decide what to write. Emmett revealed his first, "big… teeth," he tapped his two front teeth for emphasis and the boys laughed. The hosts seemed less amused but they tried to laugh politely and moved on to Jasper who wrote "nice hair." I scribbled quickly on the board and turned it around, "must like books and music."

"Aww," the hosts all cooed in unison and I blushed.

"I don't think you understand men, Bells," Emmett interjected and everyone laughed.

"So Edward, what's the answer?"

"Good taste in music," he shrugged, turning it around before patting my knee and giving it a squeeze.

"Well that looks about all the time we have today, thank you all so much for playing. Good luck on the tour and we can't wait to see you all in New York in a few months!"

"Thank you, bye," we all waved and Rose turned off the monitor, ending the conference call.

"Coffee…" I groaned and Alice brought me back my cup. It was cold by now but I didn't care, it was caffeine.

"You guys did great," Rose praised us happily, then smacked Emmett. "Big teeth, really?"

"What? Babe, your teeth are beautiful."

"Yeah, okay," she rolled her eyes, but there was smile in the corners of her mouth. "I'll let you all get back to bed, I know you're exhausted. Especially you Edward; was it really necessary to stay up all night talking to Miss Fake Tits and risk wrecking the interview." Her words sank in and I smacked Rose, hard. Edward turned to look at her, confused, and she closed her lips tightly.

"What did you say?" She shook her head but he walked towards her, accusatory. "Yes you did; what did you say?"

"I just don't think it's necessary to give your number to girls you barely know and then stay up all night texting them. I mean, you're a rockstar Edward, be smarter than that." Rose wasn't going to back down from her words, because she'd meant them, but she also wasn't going to agitate Edward anymore than she already had. She looked at her iPad, pretending to be busy, and kept her tone neutral.

"Excuse me for wanting a life outside the tour. I can't just stumble across the hall and find a girlfriend." His words were meant for Jasper and Emmett, but when his eyes met mine my heart clenched and it broke.

"That's enough Ed, you're tired," Emmett said, coming to stand between Rosalie and I.

"Yeah, I am… I'm tired of all the fucking judgement from you guys." He said, pulling off his mic pack and tossing it onto the couch before stalking off angrily.

"Jesus, where the hell did that come from," Jasper asked, as stunned as the rest of us.

"I have no idea," Emmett replied. "I thought Bella was the one on her period."

Rose smacked him and I glared at him, "go fuck yourself Em," I said before leaving the way Edward had gone. I pulled my mic pack free less gracefully than Edward had and dropped it on a little decorative table outside the conference room then headed upstairs to my room. I thought about Alice for a second but knew she'd want to check on me, so I placed the Do Not Disturb sign on the door handle and locked the deadbolt before I stripped down and climbed under the covers. _This_ was why I hated touring. Three days in and we were already fighting.


	7. Chapter 7

I was woken up around four that afternoon by the hotel phone ringing and I felt like death warmed over. I'd technically woken up a few hours ago but I had several texts from Rose and Alice checking on me, so I'd turned off my phone and forced myself to go back to sleep I regretted that decision now.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, Miss Swan, this is the front desk with your wake up call," a friendly female voice said from the other end of the phone.

"I didn't ask for a wake up call."

"No ma'am, the call was requested by your manager."

I sighed, "okay. Thank you." I hung up the phone and rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling for a long while, until I heard a knock on the hotel door. I thought about ignoring it but decided they'd just keep knocking so I found a hotel robe, slipped it on, and unlocked the door.

"Finally," Alice sighed when I stepped aside to let her in. "I was really worried you wouldn't wake up for the show."

"Alice, the show isn't for four hours," I complained, crawling back into my bed and switching my phone on.

"Yes and by the time you shower and get ready then we have to go to the venue and get dressed, we'll be late. So chop, chop; in the shower."

You know the saying "if you want something done right, do it yourself?" Well it should be "if you want something done right, have Mary Alice Brandon do it." That whole "Rome wasn't built in a day" thing? It would've been if Alice had been around.

The few times in my life that I'd chosen to blow dry and straighten my hair properly, it took hours. But when I emerged from the shower half an hour later, Alice had ordered me room service and was halfway done by the time I finished my burger and fries. "Sorry I kicked you out earlier," I said, feeling much more hospitable now that I had food in my stomach.

"No big, I spent the day with Jasper," she said, unable to keep the grin off her face.

"Well now I'm sorry that I kicked Edward out," I laughed.

"Actually," she hesitated. "He didn't go back to the room this morning. He took off and didn't come back until a couple of hours ago. He's been in the gym ever since..." Alice trailed off, pausing her sweep of the straightener, and seemed think of something, "or he was in the gym... I swear to Moses if that boy is not ready to go by the time I'm done with you..."

I tried not to think about where Edward had been, because I knew I wouldn't like that answer, and instead focused on distracting Alice. "So how are things with you and Jasper? That seemed to get pretty serious awful fast."

"Oh Bella," she sighed, her eyes doing this weird off in the distance thing as she spoke. "He's so wonderful; I've liked him since the second I saw him and then to learn he liked me back. We just have this raw chemistry, it's unlike anything I've ever felt before."

"Sounds great, Al; I'm happy for you," and it wasn't a lie.

I was thankful, for their sake, that the boys were ready by the time Alice had finished my hair and makeup and we headed over to the KeyArena. We tended to go on earlier on weeknights which had its ups and downs. The upside was that we would be done earlier so it wasn't like we had to get off stage and go straight to bed because we had something going on tomorrow, which was awesome. The downside, though, was that the sun was still up as we headed in through the back of the arena and that made me want to spend time outside.

Alice let me wear the boots again, which I was starting to love, over a pair of silver skinny jeans and a black sex pistols shirt that had been cut up the back then braided to make it tight and show a little skin. I wasn't normally a fan of showing skin but I had to admit, I looked hot. Alice tousled my hair a bit, adding some hairspray, and dubbed me delicious.

"I don't know why you put in so much effort," I commented, admiring her handy work in the mirror. I'll sweat the makeup off and my hair will be tangled my the third or fourth set.

She waved me off, "send in Jasper. His hair was bugging me on the ride over and I want to fix it."

I rolled my eyes and left the dressing room, walking into the green room where Jasper and Edward were waiting—Jasper strumming his fingers in the air like he was playing his bass and Edward staring at his phone. "Alice wants you," I said and they both looked up.

"Hot damn Bells; let Emmett try to call you a dude now, I dare him," Jasper commented, as he walked passed me towards the dressing room, and I blushed a little.

I realized Emmett wasn't there as the door to the dressing room closed and I looked around nervously. "Where is Emmett?"

Edward was staring at me, his eyes dark and hooded, and realized that his eyes were lingering on the curve of my breasts. "They're occupying the other dressing room," he complained and I knew that he wanted to be alone. I decided not to assume it was because he was still in a foul mood though, because I was maturing like that, but because Edward liked to be alone before shows. Emmett amped himself up, Jasper mellowed out, I tried not to think about it while Alice played Barbie, and Edward usually locked himself in the nearest bathroom or dressing room for a while.

"Did they wire you up yet," I started to ask when the stage manager opened the door, leading in satan herself—Emo Barbie. Only, she wasn't Emo anymore… Lauren was blonde with big blue eyes, immaculate makeup, and a midriff top that showed off the little pink jewels on her belly button ring. I took in the low rise jeans and _pretty_ little sandals and felt like she had walked into the wrong venue. She knew we were a rock band, right? We may not be hard core or anything, but have some respect.

"Lauren," he looked surprised, jumping up off the couch and putting some distance between us as her eyes narrowed on me. "You're here."

"Of course I'm here; you invited me, didn't you? When you were over this morning." I could tell by the way she spoke, and the way her fingers walked across his chest, that she was putting on a show for my benefit and I wanted to break her neck. I couldn't watch this. Shoving myself up, off the couch, I walked passed them to the door of the dressing room I'd come out out and knocked loudly.

"Pants on," I called before barging in.

…

"Ugh! Why did he have to bring her here," I whined, jumping up and down anxiously as we waited for the tech guy to show up with the ear pieces.

"She's annoying, Emmett told me, but why are we upset," Jasper asked. He was sitting on the stool in front of the makeup table and watching Alice and I interact. At least he had the sense to know that if Alice and I were both upset, he was upset by default.

"Because Bella likes Edward and Edward is clueless," Alice explained.

Jasper whistled, "that'll do it then."

"Men are clueless, Bella; he wouldn't have brought her here if he knew you liked him. All he knows is that you're irrationally upset." I glared at her and she corrected herself, "irrationally to him, but definitely rationally to anyone with a brain."

"Chicks are complicated," Jasper murmured.

"I'm just so tired of being invisible all the time. I'm a girl who plays in a rock band; there's like six of us max, doesn't that count for something?"

"You've been one of the guys too long, Bells. That's why the label hired me. Edward's definitely noticing your new found girly-ness, it's just confusing him. Men can only process one thing at a time. Right now he's still coming to terms with the fact that you have boobs, he can't even begin to process feelings. That's why he sought her out — he can have her boobs but he really wants yours."

"Hey," Jasper objected, sounding offended, when Alice stopped talking.

"Oh please," Alice rolled her eyes and I smiled. "What color are my eyes?" Jasper started stuttering and I laughed, then the tech guy was knocking on the door to wire up Jasper and I for the show.

I didn't see Lauren on our way to the stage and I tried not to look for her. They positioned Edward and I at one side of the stage, giving me my microphone and Edward his guitar. Jasper and Emmett would be on the other side getting ready. First the arena lights would dim, Emmett will go out on stage, and then we'll join him once he starts playing.

"Hey Bella," Edward started, but then the lights dimmed, the crowd started screaming, and we were on.

 **A/N: I'm posting this simultaneously with chapter 8 because it's sort of a gateway chapter, or however you want to think of it. Nothing really happens but also it needs to happen to transition? Ya know. Anyways, here goes...**


	8. Chapter 8

I lay in bed after the show that night unable to fall asleep. Alice had been out almost as soon as we'd got back to the room, which limited my entertainment options to watching quiet youtube videos on my phone, but I was wide awake after getting so much sleep earlier in the day. I was contemplating going to the gym or sitting on the balcony and reading when my phone vibrated.

 **Edward: You up?**

 **Me: Always.**

 **Edward: Come talk to me.**

 **Me: Huh? Why?**

 **Edward: Cause you know you want to ;) I miss you! Meet me at the pool.**

I thought about not going, but knew that wasn't an option. If the boy told me jump off a cliff, I'd ask how many times… or however that goes. The only dilemma was my lack of a swimsuit.

…

I entered the pool room cautiously, looking around to make sure no one was lurking around, it was against the rules for us to be in here. Edward was sitting on the edge of the hot tub with his feet in the bubbling water, his back turned towards me. While he never focused on muscle building like Emmett did, Edward liked to work out. While we were on the road, he was always visiting the hotel gyms or going for runs with Felix to stay in shape. It's been a long time since I'd seen Edward without his shirt on, and been able to appreciate it properly, but the toned muscles in his back made the Cullen tattoo he wore across his shoulders look absolutely lickable.

"About time," he commented, his tone teasing, as he turned around to look at me. I had borrowed a bathing suit that belonged to Alice, seeing as I didn't own one, which meant it was two sizes too small and looked absolutely trashy. Maybe it was wishful thinking but Edward didn't seem to mind.

"Sorry, I had to borrow a suit from Alice. Hard to do when you're trying not to wake someone up." He didn't respond as I approached, dropping my towel just out of reach of the water and sitting down beside him. Edward had a tequila bottle clutched in his left hand, I hadn't noticed before, and I could smell enough alcohol over the smell of chlorine to know he'd been drinking for a little while. "You start partying without me," I asked, moving my eyes from the bottle to his. His gaze had darkened, like it had earlier that night when I walked out of the dressing room, and he was obviously staring at my boobs. Maybe Alice was right...

"Uh, yeah," he chuckled, running a wet hand through his hair and then bringing the bottle to his lips again. "I figured you'd be awake though, thought I'd see if you want to join me."

"Eh," I was skeptical about the idea of the two of us sitting together and drinking alone. "Isn't that usually how people drown? Drinking alone in places they're not supposed to be?"

"But we're not alone," he insisted. "We're together." I liked the way that sounded and it was really the only explanation for what happened next.

"Let's at least make it a drinking game," I countered.

"Twenty questions," he suggested and I shuttered at the memories of playing with the road crew during our first tour. I'd never played before but Emmett used it as an excuse to get me drunk and, long story short, I no longer drink vodka. "Come on. I'm already way ahead of you, how bad could it be?"

I did a shot to get started and then we started asking each other questions. They were simple at first, things we didn't know about each other, nothing worth skipping on and risking a shot. "What's your favorite song to perform?" I asked, taking a second shot just for the hell of it.

"Smile," he answered without much deliberation. I liked Smile and his choice made me smile, cute right? In fact, I liked it so much that the tour we were currently on was the Worldwide Smile Tour.

"Why Smile?"

Edward did a shot, "pass."

"What? Really," I laughed. "What a silly thing to pass on."

"Same question," he said, ignoring me.

I contemplated, "smile is a good one but..." He waited patiently, "I like He Wasn't."

"Really," Edward asked, sounding surprised. "Why?"

"It was one of the first songs I wrote and it's definitely filled with teenage angsty Bella," Edward chuckled and nodded his agreement. "Plus it gets the crowd going and I like that. Your turn... What were you really going to write on your board during the interview?" This caught him off guard and he looked at me for an explanation, "you started to write something but then you changed your mind."

This time he took a long drink, "pass."

"What? You so cheat at this. Was it dirty?"

"Pass. What age did you lose your virginity?"

I choked on spit and started coughing, "what?" My voice came out as a croak and I took a pull from the bottle to wet my throat.

"I've been thinking about it a lot and I think that's when you got weird around me; that first night on the tour bus. So it's got me curious, were you really young? Was it with Jasper?"

"Jasper, what? No." His eyes were bright with curiosity, and something I couldn't identify, as I took another drink. "Pass."

"What? No, you can't pass on that!"

"That's really personal," I complained and he rolled his eyes. Edward Cullen is drunk when he starts rolling his eyes. "How old were you?"

"17," he answered without hesitation.

"Really? In High School? With Who?"

Edward took a drink and grimaced as he recalled the memory. "Her name was Tanya, she was a teenager. She wouldn't give me the time of day, treated me like crap, even though I knew she liked me. She was popular though and I was some punk kid skater boy. Anyways, she slept with me at a party one of her friends threw then pretended she was drunk and didn't remember when everyone found out."

The story made my heart hurt for young Edward and I wanted to hug him. Honestly though, I was feeling a little drunk and he was hot... I didn't trust myself. I took another drink from the bottle and felt it take root inside me, I shivered.

"Let's get in the water," Edward suggested and I nodded my agreement, sinking into the bubbles until I was submerged up to my shoulders and feeling amazing.

"I want a tattoo," I blurted, my filter impaired by the alcohol. I realized I was staring at the dragon tattoo on Edward's right pec. It was just the head, the neck and stretching onto his ribs then disappearing into the water, but I'd never examined the vibrant colors before. It was a mythological creature but the colors were what made it fantastical.

"You should get one," he agreed.

"Someday, maybe."

"Why don't you date, Bella?"

Edward's question caught me off guard, then I remembered we were still playing the game. I was too drunk to pass anymore questions... Had that been his plan? Now I was paranoid. Tequila was definitely going to end up on my No Go Alcohol List. I shrugged, "just not interested. Nobody who's interested in me has ever interested me enough to want to be with them. There's just so many expectations and it seems easier to just abstain from dating." Wait, was I talking about dating or about sex?

"Are you talking about dating or about sex?" Edward Cullen—Mind reader!

"Both, I guess. They kind of go hand in hand."

Edward snorted and I kicked him under the water. "Did you sleep with that girl?"

His face lost all humor and I watched him debate the tequila bottle then decided against it. "Yeah, I did." That hurt so much more than I thought it would and I felt my eyes burning with tears. Maybe he wouldn't notice though, the chlorine had had them burning for a while now. "But that was a mistake; that's why I sent her home before the show. I just... Emmett made me so mad and I needed somewhere to go and cool off and she was there... Offering..."

"Why did Emmett make you mad? You just kind of freaked out and we didn't know why."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "sometimes I just get so tired of him ragging on me all the time. He's so happy with Rose and now Jasper has Alice... I'm just... I'm tired of being alone." He practically whispered the final part of his confession and my heart broke for him because I understood exactly where he was coming from.

"Maybe things can work out with Lauren then," I offered, trying not to gag or be a bitch. I was trying to be supportive.

"No, she's not the one I want…" he trailed off. "She was just an easy distraction. I should have never gone there."

"Then why stay up texting her? You must have had some interest to stay up all night talking to her."

Edward rolled his eyes, "I was texting my mom, and it wasn't all night. She was awake because of a storm and my dad wasn't home so she texted me. I just kept her company for a while."

"Oh," I replied, not sure what else to say.

"I just didn't sleep well and I couldn't handle Jasper and Emmett, so I snapped." He seemed to think for a second, "so now you know why I've been so moody. What about you?"

"What about me," I feigned innocence.

"You have been so touch and go the past few days... and don't say it's your period because I've heard enough people say that in the last couple of days to last me a lifetime. Plus, I know you better than that."

He was right, it wasn't my period. When Rose had suggested it I thought she was right, it was a rational explanation I could handle, but she was wrong. Which meant I was just a completely irrational person. "What do you mean you know me better," I asked, trying to divert the question.

"I've known you for 5 years, almost 6, and you've never been this... Easily upset... Before."

"You were going to say bitchy," I accused and he smirked. "Asshole."

Edward laughed, "I plead the fifth. Answer the question... What's up with you Bella?"

I sighed then grabbed for the bottle, "pass." The tequila slid down my throat way too easily this time and I realized that may have been a mistake.

The conversation got more light after that and I realized that Edward was steadily trying to get me drunk. Of course, this occurred to me as I challenged him to finish off the rest of the tequila. So maybe I was trying to get him drunk? I wasn't sure. I didn't want to drunkenly have sex with Edward, but then again I wasn't going to say no if he asked and the heavy way he was staring at me told me that he was going to ask.

"Why don't you get nervous before we go on stage, like the rest of us?"

Edward looked confused, "I get nervous."

"No you don't," I countered. "We're all sweating bullets and you just lock yourself inside your little room and come out all calm and ready to play. Do you do yoga? You can tell me," I slurred the last part a bit.

"I don't do yoga," he smirked, reaching over to move a sticky piece of hair out of my face.

"Then what? Spill. There's no more booze so no passing."

"I uh..." He hesitated. "I relieve stress." I quirked an eyebrow, confused. "I... Take care of thing... I... Handle my business... Jesus Bella," he exclaimed, flabbergasted by my ignorance.

"Just spit it out!" He couldn't be vague then be annoyed at me for not understanding. Jerk.

"I get off." The meaning of his words took a second to sink in but when they did, I felt myself blush. Which, I might add, is a feat for someone who's probably already red faced from the alcohol.

"Oh my God..." Edward looked away, awkward. "You... You do... _that?_ "

"Of course I do," he choked on a laugh. "Everyone does."

"Uh not everyone," I disagreed, trying to will my brain not to picture Edward doing... _That_.

"You don't? Seriously? How do you stand it?" He was looking at me like I had two heads and that wasn't working for me.

"You just told me you touch yourself in public places, do not look at me like I'm the freak."

This made him laugh and then he was wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me onto his lap. This was a new level of comfortability between Edward and I, but I wasn't complaining. "Bella, it's completely normal. Honestly, I'm shocked that you don't. We're on the road for months on end and I know you're not seeing anyone when we're on tour, you must have the self control of a monk."

"Isn't it... Icky?" Suddenly I felt like I was 6 and that made this conversation completely inappropriate.

"Not anymore than touching yourself with a partner," when my eyes widened he looked concerned. "You don't do that either?" I shook my head, unable to verbally respond, and I felt some stir beneath my butt. I may be inexperienced but I wasn't stupid, I knew exactly what was stirring below. "God, the things I could show you," he practically whispered and I squeaked. Edward's hungry eyes lingered on my lips for a moment, then be raised a thumb to brush against my bottom lip before leaning forward to kiss me.

Despite my being inexperienced I've been kissed before, more than once, but kissing Edward made the others seem like they didn't count somehow. His lips were soft, ghosting across mine at first then pressing against my lips like he was proving this wasn't a dream. I felt his right hand slide to the back of my neck, controlling the kiss, and the other slid down to my waist and lingered just above my ass. His tongue licked at my bottom lip, requesting entrance, and I parted for him to caress my tongue with his. I'd never been a fan of French kissing but this was so much different than the time I'd tried to French kiss Mike in High School. It had been sloppy and awkward before, but Edward was gracious and patient in his explorations.

I shivered when he squeezed my ass and knew that I was wet now, in more way that one. If there was ever a time that I thought I could touch myself and it would feel good, it was now. "I want to touch you," Edward whispered against my lips, reading my mind, and I nodded without thinking about it. _Holy shit!_ What did I just do?

Before I could think, Edward's fingers were dancing around the edge of my bikini bottoms and then I felt him pulling them aside. The tip of one finger touched me in a place I'd never been touched before and I gasped. Edward moved his lips to my neck, placing soft kisses along my collarbone that gave me goosebumps, and I moaned. Then I felt two fingers stroking me softly, before pressing between my legs and slipping inside.

I stiffened immediately and so did Edward... Well, big Edward did... Little Edward had stiffened some time ago. His fingers were inside of me, not moving, and it felt strange and invasive. "Bella," he asked and pulling back to look at me. I realized I was gripping his shoulders and tried to loosen my hold. "Are you... Shit... Are you a virgin?"

The word left his mouth and I bit my bottom lip, embarrassed and unsure how to respond. So I nodded, because there was no better time to be honest than before things got too far.

"Christ..." He pulled his fingers back and the motion made me moan, my hips shifting involuntarily, and then he moaned because I'd accidentally rubbed my ass against him in the process. "Why didn't you say anything," he asked, his breathing heavy.

He hadn't moved me off his lap, which I appreciated, and I could still feel the tips of his fingers teasing me a little. Not enough to really feel good, like it had before, but enough to tell me he was still there. "I... I didn't know it mattered."

"You didn't know it mattered," he asked with a humorless laugh. "Bella, I knew you were inexperienced but I didn't realize... The things I said to you..."

"Were kind of hot," I admitted and he twitched beneath me.

"I want to... God I want to do so many things to you... But right now I _really_ want to make you feel good." One of his fingers touched my clit and I gasped, my head fall back as he started to rub tight little circles. "Will you let me?"

Edward's voice was dark and husky, thick with desire, and it made me feel weak in the knees. "Oh God, please," I didn't know whether I was consenting or begging at this point, but luckily I didn't have to decide. Edward slipped a single finger inside of me this time, pushing in and pulling out slowly as his thumb worked circles around my clit. "Holy shit," I cursed, feeling my hips begin to move with the rhythm he had set.

Edward moaned as my ass rubbed against him over and over, his head falling back onto the rim of the hot tub and his eyes closing as he continued to finger me. The concept had seemed sort of gross before now... Now, it was exquisite. Pulling one hand off his shoulders, I shift myself so that I was straddling him and Edward opened his eyes to meet mine. They were dark and filled with a hunger I didn't recognize. Then I reached between us and gripped him through his board shorts, and he groaned, his eyes closing again.

The new position was a good idea, I decided, because Edward was able to reach a place deep inside of me that made me tighten around him. He stopped the in and out motion he'd been using and instead began ministrations against the front wall of my vagina while his thumb rubbed the same rhythm against my clit. After that, I was a goner. My toes curled against the floor of the hot tub and I tensed, my head dropping back and my body clamping around Edward's finger. Then pulses of ecstasy were flowing through me and I was crying out his name as I came for the first time.

"Holy shit," I commented shakily, my body liquid and loose from the orgasm he'd just given me. Edward didn't gloat, just slid his finger slowly out and moved my bottoms back in place. Then he was kissing me, hard, until I felt like I was going to break. "Now what," I breathed and Edward grinned.

"Still want to get a tattoo?"

 **A/N: :D Comments = love!**

 _ **Smile**_ **and** ** _He Wasn't_** **both by Avril Lavigne.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Love love love all of you for leaving reviews and/or are reading, I was skeptical about this (and still am) but I'm having fun with it and I hope you are too... yes, that was all one sentence ;)**

I woke up the next morning to the hotel door closing as Alice left. It was six o'clock and I knew we'd need to leave for the bus soon but with the pounding in my head I couldn't really care. I didn't remember much about the night before, but I remembered the tequila. Everything hurt as I dragged myself out of bed and headed into the bathroom for a shower.

There were two things that I noticed simultaneously. One: I felt strange between my legs. Not in a you-might-have-lost-your-virginity-last-night sort of way, but in a tingly but also kind of icky way. Two: the skin on my ribs pulled in a strange way when I lifted my shirt and it stung. I stepped into the shower and under the spray, wincing again as the water ran down my body. At first I ignored it, but as the shampoo suds began to run down my body it began to burn. Holy shit! I got a tattoo!

"Bell, Rose said hurry up," Alice called through the bathroom door and I cursed.

I couldn't see it from this angle, but I felt it with my fingers and new it wasn't very big. Careful not to touch it, I wet a rag and began washing as I desperately tried to recall last night. Edward texted me, I met him at the hot tub... I could smell the chlorine washing off my body... We played 20 questions and then... The rag dipped between my legs and everything from last came rushing back in bits and pieces.

Shutting off the faucet, I jumped out of the shower and ran to the mirror. I wiped off the steam as quickly as I could and twisted to look at my left rib cage... Just below the curve of my breast and slightly to the side was Edward written in elegant black ink. "Holy shit," I was going to be sick.

I sat on the bathroom floor ten minutes later wrapped in a hotel robe and trying to decide if I should laugh or cry. There was another knock at the door and I almost screamed at Alice that they could leave me, but it was Edward's voice that spoke from the other side of the door. "Hey Bella, it's me. How are you feeling?"

On shaking knees, I picked myself off of the floor and opened the door for him. Even with a hangover, Edward was hot as hell. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was even more erratic than usual, if that were even possible. He was wearing a dark pair of basketball shorts with a white t-shirt that hugged his chest and showcased his muscles. "I feel like an idiot with a hangover," I replied and he smiled shyly.

"Not sure you're the idiot in this situation."

"I'm pretty sure when you get drunk and get your friend's name tattooed on you, there are no winners." Edward nodded, unconsciously touching his ribs in the same place my tattoo was. "No... Did we... Did you get one too?" Edward nodded, lifting his shirt for me to see the black ink where Bella was scrawled. "Oh my God." I might puke again, if there was anything left. I groaned, burying my head in my hands. Edward shifted, and I felt his arms start to come around me, when there was a knock on the door.

"Seriously, guys, we have to go," Rose called and Edward dropped his arms.

"You should go," I told him.

"Are you sure?" He asked and I nodded. "Okay, well I'll see you on the bus… we can talk."

Edward left and I tried not to think as I got dressed, throwing my tangled hair into a ponytail, and finished packing my bags. I set a reminder in my phone to google proper tattoo care then shoved it in my back pocket and did a quick survey to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.

"All set," Alice asked, her demeanor slightly more bright and chipper than usual.

"Yeah, I think so." I pulled my backpack on and flinched when it pulled at the skin where my tattoo was hiding. Alice looked at me curiously but didn't say anything about it as we walked to the elevators together.

"So you and Edward talked last night, right?"

"What," I asked, my voice coming out quick and panicked.

"You and Edward…" Alice hesitated. "You talked? Worked everything out? That's what he told Jasper this morning."

"Oh," I took a breath, trying to calm my racing heart. "Yeah, we did. I guess."

"Good," she smiled excitedly. "Then I have a favor to ask."

...

Nobody gathered for a team meeting or a status update as we loaded back onto the bus. Rose was on the phone with someone, sounded like someone from the label, and Alice and Jasper were whispering to each other. I tried not to look at Edward as he and Emmett talked in the parking lot, but then we were on the bus and I couldn't avoid him any longer.

As soon as we were alone in the room together, I prepared myself for an awkward and painful conversation. Instead Edward followed me inside, shutting the door behind him; when I turned to face him he placed his hands on my hips, pulling me against him, and his lips were on mine. I don't know what was crazier, the fact that I thought a man who could kiss me like that wasn't really interested or that my drunken memory hadn't done him justice.

"Hi," I breathed when he broke the kiss and placed his forehead against mine.

"Hi," he smiled.

"That was... Not what I expected," I confessed, and Edward pulled back to study my face.

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, chewing my lip nervously. "An awkward conversation where you tell me it was all the alcohol and you..." Edward cut me off by kissing me and I smiled.

"It wasn't all the alcohol," he assured me. "While I admit the alcohol was probably a bad idea, I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to... Well..." He let his words trail off and I blushed, averting my eyes and smiling at the memory. "I do have to apologize though, Bella; I never planned to take advantage of you. I just couldn't stand this rift that had grown between us and it seemed like the easiest way to get you to talk to me."

Now I laughed, "you didn't take advantage of me. If anything, I took advantage of you. Challenging you to drink more." The thought made me shiver, and not in a good way, and Edward smirked, placing a kiss against my forehead.

"I knew what you were doing, I wasn't objecting. Though I have to say, the matching tattoos weren't exactly part of the plan."

"Oh shit," I groaned, closing my eyes as I shook my head. "I keep forgetting about the stupid tattoo."

"Did you wash it," he asked.

"Uh not really... It burned when I was taking a shower."

"You need to use antibacterial soap, I have some." Edward turned and riffled through the bag he'd dropped on Alice's bed—well, I guess it was his bed now. He pulled out an orange bottle of soap then took my hand and pulled me into the bathroom. "Take off your shirt," he said, turning on the tap and testing the warm water. I hesitated. "What's the matter?"

"I uh..."

"Bella, it's fine. I'm just trying to help." I hesitated a second longer, then decided it wasn't any different than last night, and pulled my shirt off. His eyes lingered on the swell of my breastd and the lacy black bra I wore, then he moved on to my new ink. I bit my lip, looking away, as Edward ran his fingers under the water and spread it over my sore skin. He squirted some soap in his hand and lathered it, spreading the bubbles over the tattoo. He was sweet, and gentle, and it was totally erotic.

"Thank you," I said after he finished rinsing off the soap and dabbed at my ribs with a hand towel.

"You're welcome. It's kind of sexy, you know," Edward said with a smirk. "Seeing my name on you."

"Really," I asked skeptically. Edward stood from the crouched position he'd been in and I could see the impressive bulge in his shorts that hadn't been there a few moments ago.

"Really."

I tried not to blush or giggle; I mean it'd practically been in my hand last night, but that didn't really count because I was drunk and didn't take the time to explore. I wondered if he would let me explore at some point in the near future. It was something I'd never done before but I'd read about it enough that I was curious. "How did we end up with the tattoos exactly," I asked, trying to derail my train of thought.

"You don't remember?" Suddenly Edward looked nervous and I knew he was questioning what else I didn't remember.

"Oh I remember," I blushed. "Just not anything past you asking me if I still wanted to get a tattoo."

"Ah," he laughed a little with, what I assumed was, relief. We migrated back into the room and Edward pulled me into his bed, snuggling me into his side while we talked. "My friend Mick has a tattoo shop in Seattle. I called him up and then we took a cab over there."

"That all makes sense, but how did we end of with each other's name?"

"That was where the tequila kicked in. We started talking about Smile and you said 'wouldn't it be funny if—'"

"'Your name was on me and my name was on you'," I quoted in a sing-song voice then gasped, recalling the height of my stupidity. "Oh my God. Yup, that's it, tequila is officially on the list!" Edward chuckled and I felt him kiss the top of my head. "Why did you go along with it?"

He shrugged, "I was pretty far gone too and it sounded like a good idea."

"You know Rose is going to have a field day when she finds out right?"

"When she finds out," he asked. "What about the media?"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, crazy crazy life!**

It took six hours from the time we got on the bus until word of our trip to Edward's friend to reach the media and then to reach Rose. "Isabella Marie Swan," Rose yelled through the door, her fist pounding against the wood. Edward and I had fallen asleep on his bed talking and waking up so abruptly left me discombobulated.

"Rose," I asked, uncertainly, as Edward began to wake up.

"What's going on," he asked, his voice husky with sleep in this unbelievably sexy way that I loved.

"I don't know, it's Rose." I climbed out of bed and unlocked the door, stepping aside quickly as Rose pushed her way in.

"How could you two be so reckless and careless and… do you guys have any idea what I go through day to day to keep this band drama free and you… and you," she pointed an accusing finger at Edward who was sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "You did this?"

"Did what," Edward asked, annoyed.

My heart was hammering in my chest because I knew, we both knew. "You're responsible for this," Rose reached over and yanked up my t-shirt roughly to reveal the tattoo.

"What's going on," Alice asked, walking in with Emmett and Jasper in tow. She stopped, taking in the three of us and then looking at my tattoo. "Is that… does that say?"

"Aro called, wanted to know if I had any control over my band at all or if you were all just running around like a bunch of drunken hyenas. They have pictures, you know, the tabloids… of the two of your drunk off your asses stumbling out of some trashy tattoo parlor at one in the morning. You didn't think of security at all, did you? You want to get matching tattoos, that's your business; but when you create scandal like this, you take away from the band."

"Oh shut up," Edward came to my defense. "You could give a shit about the scandal, Bella and I are rumored to be married or pregnant or whatever else they can come up with every week. You're mad because you were the last to know."

"So what does this mean," Alice asked, her eyes dancing with excitement. "Are you guys together now?"

I looked to Edward because I didn't know the answer to that and he smiled, "yeah, I think we are."

His words made me smile and Rose looked between the two of us before shaking her head in exasperation. "Yay, I'm happy for you, hoopdie-friggin-doo. Next time, take a bodyguard." She walked out and Alice rolled her eyes.

"Ignore her, she'll get over it." Then she hugged me and pointed a finger at Edward, "you hurt her, I hurt you." Alice grabbed Jasper's hand and pulled him out, shutting the door behind them.

"Charlie's going to kill me," I half-joked and Edward laughed, moving to place his hands on my hips.

"Are you okay, with what I said," he asked, looking into my eyes.

"Yeah," I said, looking to his lips and wondering if that meant I could kiss him.

"Do you want to kiss me, Bella?"

"Are you a mind reader?"

Edward smirked at the question and leaned forward, taking my lips in a soft kiss. Our lip seemed to meld together perfectly, with no awkward teeth clashing or spit mishaps. He ran the tip of his tongue over my bottom lip and I parted for him. Unconsciously, my hands found their way into Edward's hair and I relished in the feel of his silk-like locks sliding between my fingers.

I'd watched him run his own hands through his hair so many times, I'd always wondered what it would feel like to touch. I gripped a little, giving a soft tug, and Edward moaned into my mouth. "You have no idea what you do to me," he said, breaking our kiss and resting his forehead against mine.

"I think I have a pretty good idea," I mumbled and he grinned.

It took twice as long for Charlie to hear about the tattoo as it did Rose. It was around 6pm, Seattle time because I lost all concept of time and space while touring, and we were getting ready to stop for dinner when Edward's phone rang. At first I didn't think anything of it, we were sitting in the little lounge area with Alice and Jasper, Alice trying to convince me to get a manicure with her at our next stop. Jasper and Edward were debating the concept of men getting mani/pedis when Edward got up and walked into the kitchen to answer and we carried on without him.

"Uh Bella," Alice said, cutting me off as I started to rant about biting my nails. She nodded her head towards Edward and I looked to see him rubbing his face with a firm hand.

"Yes, sir," I heard and my heart sunk. _Holy shit_. "Yes, sir; I did."

I wasn't sure what to do, whether I should walk over to him and take the phone or pretend that I didn't know who he was talking to. Technically, I didn't know... But I knew. Edward wouldn't call just anyone "sir." My phone pinged with an incoming text.

 **Seth:** I would hate to be you right now

 **Me:** oh God, why?

 **Seth:** it's Forks Bella not Antarctica. We have TV

 **Me:** it's on TV?!

Seth sent me a picture of _E!_ where someone, probably Charlie, had paused it. I gasped when I saw an image of us, obviously intoxicated, looking a mess from having been in the hot tub earlier. I wasn't wearing a shirt, just Alice's bikini top with a pair of jeans, and I looked even trashier than I thought I had. Edward had his arm around my shoulders, leading me out of a tattoo parlor and towards a cab, and you could see the elegant black script on my ribs.

Alice peeked over my shoulder and giggled, "I guess you can see why Rose was so upset."

"Uh Bella," Edward said, coming to stand next to me and holding out his phone. "Your dad wants to talk to you."

I accepted Edward's phone, quickly standing and hurrying back to the place in the kitchen where Edward had been standing. I didn't get a chance to say hello before Charlie started talking. "During our visit, I don't remember any mention of romantic feelings between you and Edwin," I knew he was bitter when he purposefully got someone's name wrong. "In fact, I recall getting pretty upset when he hit on another girl. Tell me you did not get a name tattooed on you; tell me you did not get his name tattooed on you after he blatantly disrespected you. You're smarter than that."

The disappointment in Charlie's tone was like a corkscrew slowly twisting in my heart. When you're a kid and your parents play the disappointed game you blow it off, then feel terrible later. I wish I hadn't outgrown that. "I'm sorry daddy," I almost whispered and I heard him sigh. "We weren't together then so he wasn't disrespecting me, not knowingly anyways. I know it seems fa—"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better," he cut me off. "He didn't disrespect me, I just got his name tattooed on me after being romantically involved for twenty four hours?" Yeah, he was right; neither of those options sounded particularly good. When I didn't respond, Charlie took a deep breath and I heard him shifting—I could picture him sitting down in his old recliner and trying to figure out what to do with me. That's what he said in High School anyways—he'd get really quiet and sit in his chair and say _Isabella, I just don't know what to do with you_. "This boy says he loves you."

"He what," I choked, my eyes frantically searching for Edward. He was sitting at the table, talking to Jasper and Alice, not looking at me.

"I have to assume you love him too, right," he asked sternly and I started to nod before remembering he couldn't hear me. It didn't seem to matter to Charlie though, he knew me well enough that he didn't have to see me to know what I was thinking. "Good. Well Bella, I'll tell you the same thing I told you when you left for LA with dreams of becoming a _rockstar_ ," I giggled a little at the way he said rockstar. All these years later and he still didn't like the implications of the title. "I don't like it but I love you and I'll live with it."

"Thank you, daddy," I smiled into the phone and he huffed in response.

After I hung up with Charlie, I joined my friends at the table as if nothing had happened—much to Alice's dismay—and Edward continuously eyed me through the corner of his eye as we talked about the next album. Was he nervous that my dad told me what he said? If so, was he nervous because he meant it or because he didn't?


	11. Chapter 11

I didn't tell Edward what Charlie and I talked about, and he didn't volunteer any information either. Instead we had a semi-awkward dinner with the rest of the group and then Alice and I disappeared into my room to talk clothes. Really Alice talked clothes, I just wanted a second's relief from Edward's watchful eyes.

"Do you think it's true," Alice asked, after I told her what Charlie said, discarding the two sweater's she'd been comparing and coming to sit beside me on the bed.

"I don't know," I shook my head, taking a deep breath. "This is a lot really fast."

"Bella, you've loved that boy since day one; Jasper told me."

"Jasper has a big mouth," I sniped then laughed because it was anything but true. Jasper was the quietest of us all, though that really wasn't saying much. As a whole, we were a pretty loud bunch.

Alice laughed too, then pressed on, "is it so much of a stretch that he has loved you, too?"

"Kind of," I shrugged. "He's always seemed as uninterested as the other two idiots, I always felt like it was a one way street."

"I felt the same way about Jasper," Alice reminded me. "But you all said it was obvious that the feeling was mutual. Well Jasper says it was the same with you and Edward."

I contemplated the idea for a long minute. "You and Jasper had like five minutes to figure it out, though; Edward had years and he never said something."

"You're such a pessimist," she rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that, like you, it was just too awkward to say anything after a while. Maybe it is all fast, hell I waited two days to get Jasper's name tattooed on me," Alice teased with a wink, "but you should enjoy yourself. It's a bit unorthodox, sure, but you haven't dated anyone since High School, and even that was short lived."

This time I rolled my eyes, "if you and Jasper don't stop discussing my love life I'm going to separate the two of you." Alice giggled and left me to return to my closet.

Things stayed pretty much the same for the next few shows, besides the sudden increase of paparazzi trying to get a shot of Edward and I whenever we stopped somewhere. We'd been on the road for several weeks, and even Alice was starting to feel drained, when we arrived in Chicago. "I love Chicago," I grinned, stepping out into the early morning sun and stretching. The paparazzi were camped outside our hotel, per usual, but the hotel had been kind enough to set up a barricade to save us, and security, the trouble of trying to fight through them. Flashes went off and I rolled my eyes; they could snap all the pictures they wanted, I wasn't giving them a show.

"Why? It's loud and dirty and dangerous," she complained and I giggled.

"You sound like a valley girl. Chicago is amazing first of all; second, it's where Edward's parents live. You haven't met Esme and Carlisle yet, but you're going to love Chicago, too."

"Have you talked to them since the whole tattoo thing," she inquired, fiddling with the handle of her bag while we waited on the others to join us, and I froze. _Shit._ "I'll take that as a no."

"No, I didn't even think… I was just excited to see Esme… I wasn't… shit." I started to worry my bottom lip between my teeth when the others climbed off the bus.

"Hey Edward, I hear we get to meet your parents," Alice called to him, secretly taunting me. I didn't look at him but I could feel him approach behind me as he responded.

"Technically, everyone else has already met them. But yes, we're meeting them for dinner later."

I turned to face him as Rosalie started to shuffle us all towards the hotel entrance. "Have you talked to them since… you know…" I asked nervously and he smirked.

"Of course I've talked to them," he placed a kiss on my cheek and the cameras exploded once more. "They're my parents; they called shortly after Charlie."

"What'd they say?"

"Don't be nervous, beautiful; they were just surprised. I'm sure you'll be facing the entire inquisition tonight," Edward winked, teasing me, but I couldn't manage a laugh.

The thing I loved about Esme Cullen was that she was everything I had ever wanted in a mother. I could count on one hand the number of conversations I'd had with my mother over the past several years and none of them were over five minutes. Before I went to live with Charlie, we'd had a very close relationship, but she was still never the mothering type.

Renee was young, free-spirited, and I'd spent most of my life taking care of her instead of the other way around. After she remarried and I moved in with Charlie, Phil had introduced her to the finer things in life. Slowly, but steadily, she lost interest in having a daughter. Suddenly she was Renee Dwyer, MLB wife, socialite, and way too young to have a grown daughter. The thought made me roll my eyes.

It wasn't like she acted like I never existed, which was something— I guess, it was more that she didn't acknowledge me unless she had to. She blew a gasket the first time I made headlines with the band. Then when everything fell to shit with our last record label, she called to berate me for not being more responsible. Now we mostly reserved the small talk to major holidays and the occasional birthday.

 _Birthday… birthday…_ I blanched, pulling my phone out of my back pocket and checking the calendar. Tomorrow was my birthday. _Shit_. See, this is the problem with living in a metal tube, you lose track of anything relevant. Okay, that wasn't fair; I tended to forget my birthday until it was suddenly thrust upon me by some well-meaning friend. Birthdays just weren't a big deal to me and I really preferred that they pass without acknowledgement. It hadn't happened yet, but since things had been so busy lately and nobody had mentioned it yet, maybe this would finally be the year.

The car service pulled up outside the restaurant, _Bella Italiana_ , and a hostess boy, or valet or whatever he was, opened the door for us. It was the kind of place with candles flickering behind the darkened windows and a host stand on the sidewalk to greet customers. Even despite Alice's insistence that I wear something nice, I felt under dressed in the simple black dress she'd talked me into. That was something I forgot to mention about Edward's family, probably the only similarity between Esme and Renee, they had money.

"You look gorgeous," Edward whispered in my ear, once he'd stepped out and was standing beside me. He placed his hand flat on my back and I shivered, having forgotten that the dress dipped low in the back and exposed a lot of skin.

"Thank you," I smiled bashfully. "You're very handsome yourself." It wasn't a lie; Edward looked amazing in a suit. Actually, amazing wasn't a good enough term… Fuck-hot. We'd been tip-toeing around the notion of sex, sticking mostly to heavy make out sessions, but seeing Edward in a charcoal suit that hugged his muscular torso, the top two buttons of his white dress shirt undone... what was I saying?

"Cullen, party of 8," Rosalie told the host and he quickly checked his record book before nodding.

"Of course, ma'am; right this way." He led us to a table in the center of the room, which would have felt like we were being displayed if it weren't for the fact that this was probably the largest table in the room. Esme and Carlisle were already seated, quietly discussing something, but when we approached Esme popped up to hug us all excitedly.

She hugged Alice, glossing over the fact that they'd never met just as she had when Edward introduced the rest of us to his parents, and saved Edward for last. Esme hugged her son a little tighter and a little longer than the rest, her love for him almost palpable as she released him and gave him a warm smile. "I'm so happy you've made it here safely; all of you," she added, turning back to the table.

Seeing the two of them beside each other was like a real time biology lesson. While Edward had gotten his good looks and strong jaw from his father, the odd copper color of his hair and the beautiful green of his eyes had come from Esme. There was a kindness in each of their souls, unparalleled by anyone I'd met before. Even Carlisle, whose compassion made him an amazing surgeon, could not touch the love that radiated from within his family. I watched them wistfully as he kissed his mother's cheek then offered a handshake and a firm pat on the back to his father before claiming the empty seat between Carlisle and I.

"I'll never understand why you can't operate as a band from Chicago; you only moved to LA to be discovered and now that you have been you should be able to live where you choose," Esme commented as she patted Rosalie's hand; she'd take the seat in the other side of Esme than where Carlisle sat.

"You could always move to LA," Edward countered and she rolled her eyes, waving him off.

"So Alice dear, I hear you've snagged our Jasper. Good for you," Esme commented and Alice giggled.

I mostly stopped listening to them as I looked at the menu and tried to decide what I wanted. We'd been here before but they were constantly updating their menu and I was starving. Carlisle ordered a couple bottle of wine for the table and we all placed our orders as the conversation slowly evolved from Jasper and Alice to Rosalie and Emmett.

"Oh Rosalie, you're going to be a beautiful bride," Esme sighed and I hid a chuckle, earning a smirk from Edward. I didn't know how long they'd been waiting for us, or how many glasses of wine Esme had had before we got there, but the wine was definitely going to her head.

While everyone seemed consumed with the conversation, I sipped from my own wine glass and let my mind wander. Then I felt warm fingers on my bare thigh under the table, slightly exposed from the way the tablecloth had pushed the fabric up. I caught myself before I gasped and glanced sideways at Edward, who seemed as emerged in the conversation as everyone else. _Oh God._

Edward's expert fingers slowly inched the fabric up, higher and higher, until I felt his fingertips brush against my now wet panties. The fact that we were sitting at a table with all of our friends, and his **parents** , should have freaked me out. Instead, it sort of turned me on. He traced my lips through my lace thong and I had to focus on not shuttering. If anyone were to look at us, I was certain that I would blush.

"What about you, Bella," Esme asked and, as predicted, I flushed bright red.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans, Happy Holidays to All!**

"I'm sorry?" I choked, hoping she'd think my embarrassment was caused by daydreaming or something. Of course Edward didn't stop teasing me, just stared at me like everyone else was.

"What are you plans for the holidays? Rose said you were taking a week off around Christmas," she questioned, looking at me curiously.

"I don't know," I responded honestly. "I haven't talked to Charlie about it. I'll probably go see them for a couple of days and then just hang out in LA until New Years Eve."

"Oh that's right, I forgot! New Years Eve at Time Square," Esme sighed dreamily and Edward stopped teasing as we all laughed. "Well you know that you're always welcome in our home, especially so now that you and Edward have _finally_ gotten together." There it was. Dang it.

I smiled nervously, "thank you, Esme." I looked to Carlisle, wondering how he felt, and he gave me an encouraging wink.

"Carlisle and I waited at least a year before getting each other's name tattooed on us," she teased. "But you've had about five years of foreplay so I think it evens out."

Obviously unprepared for Esme's sense of humor, Alice's snorted and choked on a mouthful of wine. A couple of drops dribbled from her nose as she coughed, Jasper patting her back with care while smiling in amusement, and we all laughed. "Sorry," she rasped.

The waiter arrived with our food then and I hoped the conversation would end there. Despite Esme's good humor, I highly doubted she was comfortable with the idea of some girl's name marring her son's beautiful skin. The mushroom ravioli turned out to be divine and it went well with the wine that Carlisle had selected. It seemed that everyone else had worked up an appetite as well because it was quiet as everyone dug into their meals.

Once again I tuned out the conversation, when everyone started talking again, and focused on my food. I was briefly aware of waiter approaching, presumably to offer to refill our glasses, when everyone stopped talking and turned to stare at me. _Oh God, did I drop something on my dress?_ I glanced down at my chest and instinctively dabbed at the fabric with my napkin, which made Emmett snort in amusement. "Bella," Esme asked and I looked at her nervously. "Happy Birthday." Esme, Alice, and even Rosalie, were grinning when the waiter placed a small, two tier, white cake on the table beside my plate. There were two silver, sparkling candles on top in the shape of 24 and the cake itself was on one of those fancy glass cake things that's tall and skinny so they don't have to serve it on a normal plate.

I hate birthdays. They're just a symbol that I'm another year older. Apparently my hopes that my friends' silence was a sign they'd finally forgotten was in vain. _No presents, at least,_ I thought, making a show of blowing out the candles, just before Esme reached under the table and pulled out a metallic gift bag. _Ugh!_ I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as everyone wished me a happy birthday and I smiled, thanking them all.

Finally, after enough years giving me extravagant gifts, it seemed Carlisle and Esme had toned down the gift giving. My first birthday after Edward joined the band, they'd bought me a first class ticket to Georgia to visit Renee and Phil. I hadn't gotten to use it because Renee had been _far too busy to entertain company._ When Esme found out, she flew to LA and took me to an all day spa treatment, just the two of us. It hadn't been my style, or so I'd thought, but I'd never had a mud bath and a deep tissue massage before.

Year three, Esme and Carlisle had gifted me a set of first edition Emily Bronte novels. Despite my many, many objections that it was too much and I couldn't accept them, they still sat on a shelf in my living room. The other years, it had been various trips and electronics, but this year it could fit in a gift bag and that had potential.

I removed the tissue paper carefully as Emmett, who was unable/unwilling to wait, set to work cutting the cake. Then I reached inside and wrapped my hand around a velvet box. "Esme," I started, cautiously, as I pulled the little red box out for the rest of the table to see.

"Oh shush and open it," she demanded, waving her hand at me dismissively. I rolled my eyes and used both hands to open the little jewelry box then gasped. It was a small silver bracelet with an inexplicably large diamond dangling from it. The bracelet was a braid-like design with two silver chains weaving around each other over and over again, and a third chain—which seemed to be covered in tiny little diamonds to make it look like it was a chain made of diamonds—weaved between them.

"It's gorgeous," I admitted, almost scared to touch it.

"It was my mother's," Carlisle spoke and I looked to him, confused. "I gave it to Esme when we started dating and now she is giving it to you."

"This is too mu–" I started but Esme shook her head, silencing me.

"Of course we're not crazy," she said, though that remained to be seen, "we know you and Edward have only been together a short while."

"But you've been in our family for six years and we love you like a daughter. When we found out you two were finally together, Esme and I decided we wanted you to have it." Carlisle placed an arm around his wife's shoulders and she smiled at me.

"Not under the conditions you two stay together, of course, but as a member of our family—regardless of what happens down the road." I was surprised to feel moisture on my cheeks when I turned to look at Edward, who was staring at me with adoration and obvious nervousness. Then I kissed him softly and got up to hug Esme and Carlisle.

"It's a beautiful gift, thank you."

When we got back to the hotel, Edward and I said goodnight to everyone and went back to our room. "Your parents are too sweet," I told him, unable to hide my smile as I looked at my new bracelet.

"They love you," he told me, shrugging out of his suit jacket.

My heart seized and I held my breath, dropping my hands to my side and turning to him carefully. "Do you," I asked.

Edward tossed his suit jacket on the back of the hotel room chair and looked at me, confused. "Do I, what?" I nibbled on my lip and the meaning behind my words seemed to occur to him. He took a step closer to me, I was within arm's reach now, and looked into my eyes — searching, I think, for something. "Yes, I do."

"Say it," I whispered.

"I love you."

"Show me."

 **A/N: I'll try to get the next update up ASAP. I don't want to leave you hanging like I did last time, I just thought this was a good stopping point. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm highly skeptical about this chapter. It didn't flow as well as I typically like Chapters like this to flow but I didn't want to leave you hanging. Leave me your thoughts in the comments so I know if I've completely failed at this.**

One thing that I loved about Edward, you didn't have to tell him anything twice. The words had no sooner left my lips than his mouth was on mine and my body was on fire. We moved to the bed and Edward laid me down, covering my body with his as his kisses became slower and more passionate. We'd covered this all before, the deep kisses and the heavy petting, but it hadn't gone beneath the clothes since that first night. Well, that night and the teasing at the restaurant earlier but that didn't really count.

Edward's kisses slowly moved from my lips to my earlobe, where he nipped and sucked softly — eliciting a soft whimper from me, then down the side of my neck. As his teeth grazed my collarbone and he began to suck the tender skin at the base of my neck, I was practically panting. There was a tingling between my legs begging for him to touch me, but Edward seemed content on taking his.

I was thoroughly turned on, my cheeks flushed and my heart pounding, when Edward stopped to undress me. "Are you sure," he asked, his eyes searching mine.

"You don't want to," I asked, my heart falling slightly before he starting shaking his head.

"Oh God, baby, of course I do." Edward pulled me into his arms and I felt his erection against my stomach, my panties practically ruined at this point. He caressed my hair and the exposed skin of my back as he spoke close to my ear, "I just don't want to push you too fast, I'll wait a thousand years for you."

"I want to," I assured him. "I'm scared I won't be good at it though." My confession came with a nervous laugh and I felt him smile against my cheek.

"I don't think that's possible, Bella."

I let Edward help me out of my dress, his hands sliding over my exposed bottom as the fabric fell to the floor and exposed my almost nakedness. When I turned to face him, he moaned, his eyes lingering of my exposed breast before his eyes met mine. They were hungry, almost black, and I'd never felt so sexy in my life. I suddenly wasn't nervous or ashamed of my body, I wanted to be as sexy as he thought I was in this moment.

With trembling fingers, I helped Edward unbutton his dress shirt and slid it over his strong shoulders to join my dress on the floor. After I undid his pants, Edward pushed them down and stepped out of them, stopping to remove his socks, so that we stood before each other in nothing but our underwear. _Holy shit._ I'd felt Edward before — palmed him through his shorts, felt him hard against my stomach and my thighs — but seeing his erection covered in nothing but a pair of Ellen boxer-briefs… Suddenly I was nervous about the pain.

"Don't worry," he told me, pulling me into his arms again. "We'll go slow." I nodded, loving the warmth of his bare chest against my nipples and feeling them harden with anticipation. Edward grabbed a condom from his bag, laying it on the nightstand, as I lay back down on the bed, then he joined me.

Edward's hands found my breasts first, his lips finding the side of my neck, and I moaned when one of his thumbs grazed my nipple. It was like a direct line to my center because suddenly I was tingling again and craving his touch between my thighs. When he stopped kissing my neck, I hope he was going to touch me but he didn't. Instead he slid himself lower and captured on of my nipples in his mouth — I almost cried out, but caught myself quickly. "Edward," I whimpered but he shushed me, his tongue flicking against the tip as he pinched my other nipple between his fingers — I threw my head back, moaning this time, and Edward sucked a little harder before releasing the swollen bud with a pop.

He reached for my panties, hooking his fingers on the elastic band and pulling them down my thighs, tossing them to the floor. I closed my eyes, unable to watch him examine my body, and gasped when I felt his hand slide between my legs and part my thighs. "You are so beautiful," he whispered and I opened my eyes to meet his gaze. His dark eyes held mine as his hand slipped up my thighs and he easily slipped a finger inside, eliciting a moan from us both. "So wet for me," Edward grinned and I blushed, trying to come up with a coherent thought as he stood to take off his underwear.

I bit my lip, watching as he pulled on the elastic band of his boxer-briefs and his erection sprang free. "Holy shit," I breathed as Edward wrapped a hand around himself, sliding it up and down as I watched him, fascinated. I moved to kneel on the bed in front of him, "can I touch you," I asked, reaching out my hand and wrapping it around his fist.

Edward moaned then moved his hand so that it was just my hand on him now and I was surprised by the feeling. Soft skin, like velvet, wrapped around hard steel. I flexed my fingers and he moaned again as I started to mimic the way he'd stroked himself. "Oh God, Bella," he groaned, flexing his hips to meet my eager strokes. "Stop," told me, grabbing my wrist suddenly, his breathing harsh and ragged. "I don't want to cum yet."

"Oh," I breathed and he grinned, kneeling in front of me and pulling me into a kiss. "Do you trust me," he asked and I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. "Lay back." I lay back on the bed and Edward kneeled between my legs, leaning over to grab the condom and slip it on. "I love you," he told me, massaging my thighs with his hands and trying to help me relax before lining himself up with my entrance.

"I love you, too."

He thrust into me suddenly and I gasped as I felt him rip through my virginity. It pinched and stung, bringing tears to my eyes as I jolted up and Edward covered my body with his. "It's okay," he whispered, soothing me with his words as he stroked my bare side and waited patiently for me to relax. "It's okay."

I nodded, kissing him, as I tried to adjust to the invasive feeling of having him inside of me. "It's okay," I responded and Edward flexed his hips a little bit, the movement making me tense and moan at the same time. He started to move then and the pain subsided, become a dull ache as it started to feel good… _really_ good. "Oh God," I moaned as Edward angled his hips to hit a sensitive spot deep inside that made me tighten around him.

"Touch yourself," Edward whispered, his voice tight, and I blanched. "Here." Edward supported his weight on his right forearm as his left hand grabs mind, moving it down between us. He uses my fingers to trace tight circles around my clit, making me moan, and he starts to move again. I can feel something building inside of me, a pressure at the base of my spine and in between my thighs. Within a few moments my knees were trembling and I felt like I might explode.

"Please," I whimpered as Edward's thrusts became more erratic. His fingertips pressed down on mine, applying pressure to my clit, and I fell over the edge — crying out his name as I came, violently, around him. He followed quickly after.

Afterwards, Edward disposed of the condom and grabbed the folded blanket from the bottom of the bed, pulling it over us as he lay beside me. He pulled me into his arms and I snuggled against his chest, my body loose and foreign to me. "How do you feel?"

I giggled, "tired."

I felt him smile as he kissed the top of me head, "thank you."

"For what," I asked, tipping my head back to look at him.

"For giving me that part of yourself," he whispered, leaning to kiss me softly. "I love you."

"I know," I smiled. "I love you, too."

"Happy Birthday."


	14. Chapter 14

I woke up around four o'clock with a serious need to pee. Edward had rolled to his stomach at some point in the night and the sheet was draped across him like something out of a movie. With his Cullen tattoo on display, his face relaxed with sleep, he looked fuck hot. Part of me wanted to wake him for round two but the other part of me had been avoiding moving for ten minutes because I was sore.

I slipped out from under the covers and grabbed Edward's dress shirt off the floor, buttoning it as I tiptoed into the bathroom. Carefully, I shut the door before turning on the light and looking at myself in the mirror. I looked different, somehow — older, sexier. My hair was a wreck, my mascara smudged, but I looked good in his shirt; the thought made me smile. I quickly pulled my hair up into a messy bun and wet my fingertips to wash away the flaked make up, the swished a capful of listerine for good measure.

Part of me had expected that I'd look different… what I hadn't expected was for it to burn when I peed. "Ow," I hissed, flinching as I tenderly wiped. Even with my limited experience, I had a feeling Edward was larger than most and so I chalked the discomfort up to that. Everyone talked about the pain of losing your virginity, but nobody told you that it was going to hurt when you peed afterwards. Prepare a girl!

I flushed the toilet, then waited for the hissing in the toilet tank to stop before I shut off the light and tiptoed back to bed. Edward didn't appear to be awake as I slipped back under the covers, but he pulled me to him anyways and I couldn't help but smile when his warm lips found my cheek. "You left," he accused in a thick, sleepy voice.

"I had to pee," I told him and felt his smile against my skin.

"You know, I think I've loved you since the first day I saw you," Edward confessed, sounding a little more awake but still not fully there yet. "You were just so different than any other girl I've ever met."

"Like one of the guys," I asked bitterly and he snorted.

"No, more like a wildflower in a sea of dime store roses." Edward had a poetic side to him that I loved, it was what made him such a good songwriter. "You and Jasper came to see Emmett in Seattle…"

 _Jasper and I had driven all morning in my rusty old truck with no air conditioning and a busted radio. By the time we arrived at the University of Washington, my hair was frizzy, we both stunk, and I'd striped down to my Flogging Molly tank top I'd worn under my t-shirt because I didn't want to wear a bra. "Hot, Bells," Jasper teased as I pulled my hair into a messy ponytail and pulled on a worn out hoodie I kept behind the seat of my truck. It was old and faded, I'd gotten it from a thrift store in Phoenix before I moved to Washington, but comfortable — the zipper was broken now, though, so I rarely wore it anymore._

" _Bite me," I flipped him off and let him lead me to Emmett's dorm. Unlike my dad, Jasper's parents had let him visit Emmett over the weekend before — I'd had to wait until I turned eighteen, and even then Chief Swan wasn't thrilled with the idea. I was an adult though and he was just going to have to deal. Jasper seemed to blend in with the rest of the shaggy haired idiots that crowded the dorm hallways, but I stuck out. We past more than one group of colorfully dressed blonde girls who gawked at my chucks and the holes in my jeans, I just tried to ignore them._

 _Emmett was on the second floor and his door was unlocked when we arrived, which was good because I really had to pee. Jasper barged in without knocking and I followed quickly, practically dancing as I demanded the bathroom and Emmett pointed to the closed door opposite his bed. At first, I'd barely noticed him — only offering a slight wave as I darted into the bathroom and slammed the door — but once I emerged, there was no ignoring Emmett's roommate. He was tall and sloppy with piercing green eyes and erratic copper hair like I'd never seen before. Edward Cullen eyed me speculatively and I returned the stare… I think I loved him then._

 _(_ **Edward** _)_

 _My God, she was beautiful. Em had told me all about Bella over the past couple of months, even had a couple blurry pictures of them all on stage at the Prom last year tacked to the cork board above his desk, but nothing had prepared me. She looked a mess, her face flushed and her hair pulled out of her face carelessly._

 _After she came out of the bathroom, Bella shrugged off her hoodie and threw it on Emmett's bed, and I thought I might die on the spot. Because there was a God in heaven, she wasn't wearing a bra and I could_ almost _make out her nipples through the faded parts of her tank top. The girl was a wet dream incarnate but Emmett and Jasper seemed completely oblivious, focusing instead on the video game Emmett was trying to beat. "Hi, I'm Bella," she smiled nervously and I felt my dick twitch when she sunk her teeth into her plump bottom lip._

" _Edward Cullen," I introduced myself, offering her my hand._ Edward Cullen, really? What are you — 90? _Bella didn't seem to mind though because her soft hand wrapped around mine, giving it a soft squeeze, and then tucked an invisible strand of hair behind one ear._

" _You look like shit," Emmett commented, once he'd reached a stopping point in his game, and Bella flipped him off. "I told you that piece of shit truck wouldn't make it up here."_

" _It made it," she complained, giving him a hug. "Respect the truck, McCartey, it's old enough to be your car's grandfather."_

" _Great-grandfather is more like it."_

" _I can't wait to get my van," Jasper chimed in. "We need something with air conditioning when we leave for LA."_

" _If we ever leave for LA," Bella added, rolling her eyes. "This one's a college boy, now. He's got a bright future ahead of him."_

" _Networking, babe. Eddie here is killer on the guitar, just what we're missing."_

" _Don't call me that," I grumbled and Emmett grinned, cheeky bastard._

" _Yeah," Bella asked, sounding interested. "Why don't you play us something?"_

" _Pssh. Not here. Acoustics are for shit. I set us up a room across campus to rehearse, one of the perks of being a college man," Emmett winked and Bella rolled her eyes, she seemed to do that a lot. I didn't mind though, her beautiful brown eyes could roll at me any time — thought I'd prefer they were rolling in the back of her head. "You in?"_

 _Emmett pulled me out of my daydreaming and I nodded, grabbing one of my guitar cases from the closet. Jasper had brought his bass and Emmett had a pair of drumsticks permanently glued to his hands, but Bella was empty handed. I knew she sang, but I wondered if she played any instruments or not. Personally I thought Emmett was full of crap about ditching school this summer and taking off for LA, but shouldn't the lead singer play an instrument too?_

 _The room Emmett had reserved was set up like a recording studio, but with a wall of mirrors facing us so we could watch ourselves play. I was impressed by how well the three stepped into the sea of sound equipment and made themselves comfortable while I hooked up my guitar. Emmett gave me some sheet music and told me to follow along as best I could, then Jasper played a couple chords and they were off._

Sometimes I get so weird  
I even freak myself out  
I laugh myself to sleep it's my lullaby

Sometimes I drive so fast  
Just to feel the danger  
I want to scream it makes me feel alive

Is it enough to love?  
Is it enough to breathe?  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die?  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please

To walk within the lines  
Would make my life so borin'  
I want to know that I have been  
To the extreme  
So knock me off my feet  
Come on now give it to me  
Anything to make me feel alive

Is it enough to love?  
Is it enough to breathe?  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die?  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please

Let down your defenses  
Use no common sense  
If you look, you will see  
That this world is a beautiful, accident  
Turbulent, succulent, opulent  
Permanent, no way  
I wanna taste it  
Don't wanna waste it away yeah, yeah

Sometimes I get so weird  
I even freak myself out  
I laugh myself to sleep it's my lullaby

Is it enough?  
Is it enough?  
Is it enough to breathe?  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die?  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please

Is it enough?  
Is it enough to die?  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please

 _The song was okay and I was able to fall in with the guys pretty easily, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She had her eyes closed, unable or unwilling to watch herself sing, but she looked like an angel as she swayed awkwardly from side to side. I didn't know if they had a chance in hell at making it as a band, but I knew in that moment that if that girl was on board, I'd follow her anywhere._

 **A/N: the song is Anything by Ordinary by Avril Lavigne**


	15. Chapter 15

The United Center is one of my favorite venues except that, as one of our largest venues, we always have a handful of backstage passes that've been sold. Normally I wouldn't mind spending a couple of hours with fans after the show, they usually have food delivered and we have a few beers so it's not like I'm missing anything—besides a shower, it's just that it's usually a bunch of rich girls who wants to swoon over Edward. To their credit, they swoon over Jasper and Emmett too, but it's mostly two hours of me sitting in the corner drinking beer and playing angry birds.

The show went great, completely sold out, and the new shirts that the label was rolling out had sold like hot cakes. The boys—and the crowd—even sang me happy birthday and Edward gave me roses. I was pretty sure that our friends knew we had slept together last night, but the way Emmett kept grinning every time Edward showed me attention. Alice had commented that I looked different, but we'd had to take the stage before she'd had a chance to expand on that or ask any prying questions. I was kind of happy, though, that it had officially stayed between us for now. Alice would corner me soon enough, and I was dying to ask a million questions, but until then it felt like this was all ours.

Once we were in the green room, a tech helped us remove our mic packs and Emmett b-lined for the platter of sandwiches they'd laid out while we were on stage. Edward pulled me into his arms, kissing me hard then dipping me playfully. I started giggling and he kissed me again. "I love you," he whispered against my lips and I kissed him again.

"I love you, too."

There was a knock on the door and I knew that meant the hell hounds had arrived. Reluctantly, Edward and I separated and I moved to grab a beer as the door opened. As predicted, 4 of the 7 backstage pass recipients were women – the 3 men surprised me. 1 of the men looked to be in his early 20s while the two boys with him were probably in their Sophomore or Junior year of High School. He had the same dark hair and russet skin as one of the boys and I assumed they were brothers—the other had brown hair and greasy skin. The two were talking excitedly to each other and looking between Emmett and Jasper, obviously unsure who to go to first. I noticed the older boys' eyes watching me and it made me a little uncomfortable, so I busied myself with the cooler of beer.

"Eddie," I heard an excited squeal and turned around to see some blonde throwing her arms around my boyfriend.

 _Great, tell me she's an ex and I will shoot myself. What is it with him and blondes?_ I contemplated whether or not to approach them when I caught Em's eye and he gave me a what-the-fuck look so I decided that I was totally within reason, as a concerned band member, to join the conversation. Yeah, that was it. Not a crazy, self-conscious girlfriend at all. I took a couple of drinks from my beer, grabbed one for Edward, then headed over towards to group of Harpies.

"… then I called Jessica and she was like 'I know, duh! I have concert tickets' and I totally had to come see your show. I mean, who would have thought – Edward Cullen, rock star!" The blonde girl was talking a mile a minute and used her hands for emphasis, a lot. "Anyways, I told daddy I just had to see you again and he bought us all backstage passes. Isn't that great!"

"Great," Edward responded through gritted teeth and I noted the look of tension and surprise on his face.

"Hey," I smiled, trying to be friendly, and the four girls all turned to look at me. _Wow! High School flashback._

"Oh, thank you, I'm famished," the girl reached out her manicured talons and wrapped it around the beer I'd grabbed for Edward. I raised a brow at Edward who shook his head, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into his side. It was a small thing for him – something he'd been doing for weeks – but it felt good to have him do it in front of these girls. Call me childish, I don't care.

The brunette standing behind the blonde eyed his arm around me, her eyes calculating, but the blonde didn't seem to notice me at all. As far as she was concerned, I'd walked away after handing her a beer. There were two more girls with them, both blonde, but they had drifted into their own conversation then sort of drifted towards Emmett and Jasper. Perhaps they assumed they could scoop up a rock star of their own; I thought about Rosalie punching one of these girls and had to hold back a laugh that threatened to escape.

"I still can't believe it," she started talking again and I wanted to roll my eyes. "To think _I_ took _the_ Edward Cullen's virginity." The girl giggled and I stiffened, then felt Edward stiffen in reaction to me. "I always thought you and I could have made a go of it, but it wasn't the right time…" she trailed off and Edward snorted.

"Tanya, I hated you for a long time for what you did, but you did me a favor, really."

The girl pouted then stepped closer to him, shooting a glare at me, then placing her hand on his chest. "Oh Eddie, don't be like that. You know how High School can be, so cruel."

Edward snorted and pushed her hand away, " _you_ were cruel, not High School."

"Edward, perhaps you and Tanya would like to go somewhere more… private… to talk," the brunette suggested and Tanya smiled hopefully. _Over my dead body!_

"I don't think so," he almost laughed.

"Oh come on, Eddie," she bat her eyelashes, back to ignoring me. "For old time's sake."

"I think you should all leave," he told her, his tone angry. Edward tightened his grip on me almost to the point of pain and I felt fear building in my chest. Edward would never hurt me… right?

"You can't throw us out," Tanya snapped, dropping the sweet act and looking like a class A royal bitch. "My father paid good money for these passes and they're all access. All access to _you_ , Edward. So I suggest if you want to keep your place in your little band, you show me some fucking respect."

This time Edward did laugh, "we're not in High School anymore, Tanya. You can't stomp your feet and get what you want, but I can. Felix." Edward pointed to Tanya and her friends, and I looked up to see Felix and two of the venue security guards approaching. Tanya had a few more nasty words for everyone on her way out, but nothing phased Felix. Then they were gone and Edward instantly relaxed.

"Are you okay," I asked, my voice coming out small and uncertain. His hand still gripped my hip and it was becoming growingly uncomfortable. Edward's green eyes assessed me, then he released me and pulled me into a hug before I could pull away.

"I'm so sorry; did I hurt you?"

"No," I shook my head; it wasn't a complete lie. Scared me was more like it.

"She just makes me so… ugh!" He tugged at his hair, agitated, and I worried my bottom lip between my teeth. "She and her friends made my life hell in High School and then she expected to just show up and… and… what? What exactly could she have thought was going to happened?"

"Well obviously she thought she was going to leave with her own personal rock star," I responded dryly and watched the corners of his mouth twitch—amused.

"Well too bad I'm _your_ personal rock star," he joked, his voice calmer now, and I couldn't help smiling. Somewhere cleared their voice beside us and I turned to see the tall guy I'd noticed earlier standing there. Obviously he'd grown bored with Jasper and Emmett – though his two friends hadn't – and wanted his turn with Edward Cullen.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said shyly, though he didn't seem sorry. "We don't have a lot of time left, it's a long drive home, and I was hoping to meet Bella."

"Oh," I was surprised when he said my name.

"I'm Jacob Black, I'm a big fan." I shook Jacob's hand and was surprised by how warm it was. They kept it relatively cold in the green room and I was on the verge of needing longer sleeves, but he almost felt like he was running a fever.

Jacob sat with us and talked about music for ten minutes or so, before his brother—Quil—came to remind him they needed to go. He seemed like a nice enough guy, though I could tell from the way that he kept glancing at Edward and Edward kept staring at him, that Edward wasn't too keen on him. "It was nice to meet you all, thanks for coming," I smiled as he stood to leave. Then Jacob hugged me, surprising me, and Edward growled beside me. _Seriously? Growled._

"Well that was… interesting," Jasper commented and Emmett laughed. "Maybe they need to start screening for crazy exes and creeper guys."

"Creeper guys," I asked. "They were teenagers, how creepy could they be?"

"That Jacob-guy was creepy as fuck," Emmett insisted, shaking his head.

"Oh please, he was nice," I argued and Edward stared at me, dumbfounded. "What?"

"Bella, he was staring at you for the past hour," Jasper insisted.

"What?"

"Wouldn't take his eyes off you, even with Eddie holding you like a greased up pig."

The turn of phrase made me laugh but Edward snarled, " _don't call me that!_ "


End file.
